Plenty Credit Union and CUA announce merger
17 June 2010
Plenty Community Credit Union today announced its intention to merge with CUA. This is an exciting opportunity for both organisations which provides tangible benefits to the members of Plenty and CUA.
CUA offers current Plenty members the security of Australia’s biggest credit union with a strong strategic focus on growth and efficiency. The merger also demonstrates CUA’s commitment to the credit union industry and to establishing increased competition in the financial services sector.
A merger was an attractive option for both parties for several reasons: the organisations offer a compatible suite of products; a similar focus on ensuring that members receive an exceptional service experience; and synergies between the existing membership demographics and culture.
Plenty members will have increased access to credit union products and services from CUA’s national branch network, including lower rates on a number of financial products, in addition to enjoying the security and confidence of being part of a strong and growing business which prides itself on offering outstanding service to members.
The merger with Plenty is a key step in CUA’s broader strategy to grow the business as it is an excellent fit with CUA’s current branch network and consolidates CUA’s Victorian presence. All current Plenty and CUA branches will operate as usual in the foreseeable future.
CUA and Plenty will now proceed with the necessary regulatory and membership approvals to facilitate their merger which is expected to take a number of months. CUA and Plenty will be making every effort to keep both members and staff informed of their progress in merging the organisations.
Plenty CEO Peter Jones said: “The financial security and well-being of our members is our highest priority and we strongly believe that this merger with CUA offers the best outcome for them in terms of the service levels they will receive and the products and network that they will now have access to.”
CUA CEO Chris Whitehead said: “The merger with Plenty represents an exciting opportunity to bring the benefits of banking with CUA to Plenty members through access to a greater range of products and services, whilst also proving a great fit for CUA in pursuing its strategic objectives and strengthening the Australian mutual sector.
“We have the merger experience to ensure that this transition process will be a smooth one for Plenty, who will join the combined members of over 150 other credit unions that form part of the CUA heritage.”
