OLDS – In what’s being called the largest merger in Canadian credit union history, Servus and connectFirst credit unions are now officially one entity.
The credit unions announced the merger closed on May 1 following approval from the Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation and more than 84 per cent of each credit union’s membership.
Now under the legal name Connect First and Servus Credit Union Ltd., the new entity has more than $30 billion in assets and serves approximately 500,000 residents in 80 Alberta communities.
It is expected that branches will continue under their brand names for a period of time.
There are connectFirst branches in Olds, Didsbury, Carstairs, Cremona and Sundre, with a total of more than 40 branches in central and southern Alberta. There are 102 Servus branches, including in Innisfail.
"With this merger, we have achieved something truly momentous. It is not only the largest merger in Canadian credit union history, but we've moved through the process in a timely manner, which is important in the context of the rapidly evolving financial services landscape,” said the new credit union’s president and chief executive officer, Ian Burns, in a prepared statement.
The former president and CEO of Servus added “I can’t say enough how excited I am to begin implementing the changes that will bring enormous benefits to our members, our employees, and the communities we serve."
According to the company, the merger enables the credit union to operate at the scale necessary to invest in new technologies and thrive for the long-term while preserving the cooperative values and ways of banking that are important to members, employees and the communities the credit unions serve.
More than 3,000 employees of the two credit unions were offered a role in the new credit union and officials said there would be no layoffs as a result of the merger.
Common shares held by members in either credit union will be exchanged for the same number of common shares in the merged credit union. As well, investment shares of any series held by members in either credit union would be converted into an equal number of investment shares of the merged credit union.
Eight-five per cent of connectFirst Credit Union members who voted at a special general meeting in Calgary on Nov. 9, 2023 approved the merger. On Sept. 19, 2023, 84 per cent of Servus members who voted approved the merger.
The board of the new credit union will be populated by seven directors from Servus and five from connectFirst.
