The $328 million Sooper Credit Union in Arvada and the $296 Denver Community Credit Union entered into an intent-to-merge agreement last week that would make the combined cooperative the ninth largest in Colorado.
The merger agreement calls for Sooper to merge into Denver Community by the third quarter of 2017.
The merged credit union with combined assets of $625 million and more than 60,000 members will also establish a new name and brand.
Dan Kester, president/CEO of Sooper, will remain as the CEO of the merged credit union, and Carla Hedrick, president/CEO of Denver Community, will retire.
“We see a lot of synergies for our members and employees in this partnership,” Kester, said. “Convenience will be enhanced with the addition of branches. This partnership is the next step – a foundational step – toward our larger goal of providing our members with a broader platform of products and services.”
Both credit unions have similar loan portfolios, according to their June 2016 5300 reports. The only difference is that Sooper manages 16,919 total loans and leases worth $225 million compared to Denver Community’s 12,200 total loans worth $162 million. Sooper posted an Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses of $2.1 million while Denver Community had an ALLL of $750,329, according to their 5300 reports for June 2016.
Both credit unions also manage business loan portfolios. Denver Community posted a total of 81 business loans worth $13.4 million and Sooper has 109 business loans worth $24.6 million, according to their June 2016 NCUA 5300 reports.
Denver Community’s net worth was 13.57% and its ROAA was 0.44% at the end of the second quarter. Sooper’s net worth was 11.29% and its ROAA was 0.23% at the end of the second quarter, according to their NCUA financial reports.
“Because this is a merger of equals, all employees will have positions at the newly formed credit union,” Helen Gibson, vice president of marketing and education at Denver Community, said.
Sooper has 93 full-time employees and two part-time employees. Its total compensation and benefits costs totaled $3.2 million at the end of the second quarter, according to NCUA financial performance reports. Denver Community employs 71 full-time employees and seven part-time employees. Its total compensation and benefits costs amounted to $2.4 million at the end of the second quarter, according to NCUA financial performance reports.
“Both credit unions are very strong financially. It is a merger of opportunity focused on providing value to our members,” Hedrick said. “We are both state-chartered, with similar cultures and philosophies, and we have worked very collaboratively for many years.”
Sooper, chartered in 1951, serves 36,670 members in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico. Chartered in 1934, Denver Community serves 24,507 members in four counties in Colorado.
