There has been a flurry of news articles and opinion pieces about what a credit union should disclose to its members when members are asked to vote on a merger of their credit union.   It is a worthwhile question to ask but there are legitimate privacy interests of credit union management that we should be mindful of and respect.  The key is to determine where the line is.  If a Merger Information Disclosure was created, it might have the seven questions below.  The first three questions are of obvious concern to members and need no explanation.   I will comment on the others.

1. What will be the impact of the merger upon the types of products and services offered to members?

2. What will be the impact of the merger upon the cost of products and services offered to members?

3. What will be the impact of the merger upon the branches and electronic access available to members?

4. What will happen to the credit union’s capital as a result of the merger?

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