Vaca-Based Credit Union in Merger

Vaca-Based Credit Union in Merger
By Amanda Janis/Business Editor

Travis Credit Union announced Monday a merger with Napa Valley Schools Federal Credit Union. The transaction will add more than $16 million to the some $1.5 billion in assets currently held by the Vacaville-based credit union, which is the state's 12th largest.

"I think it'll be a really great merger for both of our credit unions," said Patsy Van Ouwerkerk, president and chief executive officer of Travis Credit Union. "We were approached by the CEO there; they were interested in expanding the services for their members...and we were very pleased that we were asked."

In a prepared statement, the Napa-based credit union's president and CEO, Marlene Myers, called Travis an ideal merger partner.

"They share our focus on quality member service, they have a long and proven history of financial stability, they are highly committed to giving back to the communities they serve, they've invested in a financial education program with high schools, and they offer multiple regional locations to serve our members," she said.

Under terms of the deal - which is expected to close by the end of March - the Napa Valley Schools Federal Credit Union branch located in Napa will be operated by Travis and called the Travis Credit Union Napa Valley Schools branch. Both the Napa-based organization's some 3,500 members and Travis' existing 145,000-plus members will be able to utilize the Napa location, which will be Travis' 16th branch.

All of the Napa-based credit union's employees will become Travis employees, and most will stay at the Napa branch, according to a statement issued by Travis.

"We will be adding some additional staff to this location to support Saturday hours and the expected increase in business by opening this branch to our already existing 1,900 TCU members in the area," said Lila Dressen, Travis Credit Union's executive vice president, in a prepared statement.

This is the second large merger/acquisition to be announced in the past five days that involves local financial institutions. On Thursday, Oregon-based Umpqua Bank announced the acquisition of Solano Bank and Napa-based The Vintage Bank from their parent company, North Bay Bancorp.

Van Ouwerkerk said there might be more mergers in Travis' future.

"We're always interested in mergers," she explained. "It's certainly another way to grow the assets of the credit unions and get members."

Amanda Janis can be reached at business@thereporter.com.