Access Credit Union mulls merger with Crosstown Civic

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This article was published 06/12/2019 (1975 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Four years after its members torpedoed a merger with Assiniboine Credit Union, the board of Access Credit Union is considering unifying with another Winnipeg-based counterpart, Crosstown Civic Credit Union.

The merger would produce greater value for members and employees, the two boards said in a joint statement released last Thursday.

“Over the next couple of months, the credit unions will develop a more detailed business case for each board to review and determine if they will recommend the proposed merger to their memberships.”

If both boards assent to the plan, membership votes could be held as early as mid-March, Larry Davey, president and CEO of Access, said in an interview.

A two-thirds majority is needed from both memberships for a merger to proceed.

Surveys will be distributed to Access members ahead of town hall meetings to be announced at a later date.

The resulting entity would be the second-largest credit union in Manitoba.

Access currently maintains branches in Grunthal, Morris, Vita, Sprague, Emerson, and Dominion City.

“This is not going to lead to rural branches closing,” Davey said.

The Access Credit Union name would likely remain, but undergo a rebranding.

“Our members continue to tell us they would like to be able to go to Winnipeg,” Davey explained.

The new merged credit union would have dual headquarters in Winnipeg and Winkler.

“There’s no layoffs in this. Everybody’s guaranteed a position,” Davey said, adding attrition may occur over time.

Access is the fourth-largest credit union in Manitoba, with 54,000 members, 17 branches, 260 employees, and over $3.1 billion in assets.

Ranking fifth is Crosstown Civic, with 31,000 members, nine branches, 160 employees, and over $2.6 billion in assets.

Neither Access nor Crosstown is a stranger to the merger process.

Heartland, Agassiz, Altona, and Dufferin credit unions were merged to create Access Credit Union in 2009. Lowe Farm, Sanford, and Community credit unions were folded in later.

As its name suggests, Crosstown Civic was created by the amalgamation of two credit unions in 2007.

Merger discussions between Access and Crosstown Civic began this past spring.

Curt Letkeman, Access’s board chair, called mergers “key to the long-term success of the Manitoba credit union system.”

However, in 2015, Access members voted down a proposed merger over concerns the Winnipeg-based Assiniboine Credit Union didn’t reflect rural values.

“We were half the size of Assiniboine. So we think it’s very important that this one, we’re slightly larger or the same size as Crosstown Civic, so it’s not quite as imposing,” Davey said.

He told The Carillon that rising technology costs and the gradual phase-out of a provincial tax credit are two factors motivating the merger talks.

“I actually think there’s lots and lots of people talking throughout the system simply for that reason.”

More technological change is also on the horizon, including “open banking,” already active in Europe, which brings accounts at various financial institutions together in a single online portal.

Davey said the federal government has indicated it would like open banking in Canada.

“That’s a huge transition and a huge cost.”

Combining with Crosstown Civic will allow Access to spread out the cost of the technology its members are increasingly gravitating toward, Davey explained.

Over 90 percent of Access transactions are completed electronically, though ATM visits, which are part of that figure, are declining.

However, technology would also smooth out the merger process. Davey said Crosstown Civic converted this summer to the same central banking system used by Access.