With Midale Credit Union members voting to approve a merger with Conexus Credit Union, the two institutions will become one at the start of the new year.
Operations for the town's credit union will remain largely unchanged but members can expect a number of benefits in being connected to the Regina-based credit union.
Sheila Peterson, president of the board of directors for the Midale Credit Union, noted that the Sept. 26 meeting the credit union held was well attended by 161 members. That was promising for her because they held a more sparsely attended information meeting regarding the merger in July.
When it came time for members to give their yea or nay, a clear majority stood in favour with 89 per cent voting to approve the amalgamation. The Midale Credit Union has about 900 members and will officially become Conexus' Midale branch on Jan. 1, 2013. As is legislated, 75 per cent of voting members must approve a merger of this kind.
"We were really encouraged (by the vote) and as a board, really excited with the possibilities that now lie ahead of us," said Peterson.
She is happy with the support the merger received, as she said members did have valid concerns that they wanted to address.
"The main issue was people feeling they would lose their identity (as) the Midale Credit Union, and a little bit of community pride and being concerned about being swallowed up by Regina. That's not the case," added Peterson. "Conexus has 47 branches and they're spread out all over the province. That was the main concern: community pride and identity."
She said they did address those concerns at the meeting last week and someone from Conexus was also on hand to give a presentation for the membership.
"The day-to-day activity will be not even noticeable to the members," said Peterson. "We will have great access to technical support. There will be specialists in the lending department and possibly the waiting times will be even less than they are now."
Lending limits will increase because of the size of the assets behind Conexus. She noted that for the tech savvy, there will be apps available for members to complete their banking on their phones. Wider access to the credit union in all parts of the province is another perk Peterson touted.
"That's one thing we see as a positive, especially for our young people who are going off to school. They'll be able to access their credit union right in the community they are living."
She said the idea of a merger began a few years ago as they were facing the challenges that so many other financial institutions are dealing with in regards to changes in regulatory requirements and compliance issues. Technological issues as well, were very apparent for them.
"We just felt this was an opportune time for us because we are in a strong financial position right now," she said. "We're not struggling. There wasn't a crisis per se, so we thought this was an opportune time for us to explore the possibilities."
One of those was the amalgamation, and ultimately it was that route they felt would give them the best opportunities moving forward.
Peterson noted they considered several credit unions of various sizes in the province and set out some guiding principles that they considered non-negotiable. Conexus best met the criteria they were concerned with.
"They seemed to be a very willing partner for us. They fit well into our organization," said Peterson.
What they were most concerned about was that their staff wouldn't experience any serious changes, that they'll always have a presence in Midale and that they would support the community."
"We wanted to be sure that they would support the community in any of the efforts that we had been pursuing up to now," Peterson said. "We've always supported our local rink, for instance. They have a very good program for supporting community, so that was very important to us."
She added that they expect only positive changes in how the credit union will remain connected to Midale, and said all staff are assured of a job, though there may be some changes to title once the transition is made at the start of 2013.
Peterson said they will also be undergoing some changes to their banking system. Two years ago, they experienced a change in their banking platform, but staff was unsatisfied. In the first quarter of 2013, they will make a move to the Ovation system, used by other Conexus branches.
