Filene Fill-In Ep. 48: Do Credit Union Mergers Create Member Value? (You Might Not Be Surprised!)

Filene Research Institute

Mergers-- they have dramatically restructured the credit union system over the last 5 decades. And Credit union leaders have accepted this as a reality of the current financial services landscape. But that does not mean leaders should approach a merger without caution and due diligence. Many leaders are rightly concerned about how a merger would affect their operations, their employees, and—especially -- their members. Many seek evidence of the benefits and downsides. As the system consolidates into fewer, larger credit unions, a question lingers: Do mergers create value for members? Fortunately to help guide us through the complexities of that seemingly simple question, I am joined by Filene’s chief research and development officer, George Hofheimer, and Dr. William E. Jackson, author of Filene’s report “Do Credit Union Mergers Create Value for Credit Union Members? An Analysis and Review of the Empirical Evidence.” Download the full report at filene.org/472. We hope you are enjoying hearing directly from our research authors, so they can explain the essential findings from their point of view. We are adding a series of mini-episodes around these bigger report deep-dives where we bring in an academic or known expert to explore topics and issues important to credit union leaders. These won’t always be tied to a Filene report but will allow us to be even more timely with our topics here. If you want the next level experience connecting with our research, I recommend attending one of our research events this year. Each is hosted by our academic fellows from renowned universities across the country. Our next event is called “The Future of Trust: How Technology Will Make it or Break it for your Credit Union” on May 29-30 in Seattle. This event will give your credit union an edge when you learn strategies for using data to grow member trust, not lose it. Be sure your marketing, technology and operations leaders are there.