Coast-Tel Federal Credit Union members have voted affirmatively to merge into Bay Federal Credit Union. The membership vote was finalized and accepted by the Coast-Tel Federal Credit Union Board of Directors during its January 15 Board meeting.
Coast-Tel Federal Credit Union, based in Salinas, CA, has $20 million in assets, 3,200 members, and one branch location. Bay Federal Credit Union has $996 million in assets and 73,000 members. Bay Federal members have access through six branch locations, 21 proprietary ATMs and surcharge-free access to over 30,000 ATMs nationwide through the CO-OP Network.
The two credit unions stated their volunteer Boards of Directors unanimously approved a merger agreement in September 2018 and filed an application for the merger with the National Credit Union Administration. After receiving approval from the federal agency, the merger proposal was put to vote and approved by the members of Coast-Tel Federal Credit Union.
The legal merger of the credit unions will take place on February 1, 2019, with the operational combination of accounts by the mid-year 2019. Coast-Tel will become a division of Bay Federal Credit Union and continue to serve its members as “business as usual” at their branch location. Bay Federal Credit Union will assume the branch and ATM location in Salinas when the operational combination is finalized.
Bay Federal Credit Union is committed to making the process for members as simple as possible and will be waiving membership fees for members who want to make the move in advance. Affected members will be notified at least 45 days in advance as to what to expect as the final operational merger of the credit unions is complete.
“We are very happy that our members have spoken in approval of the merger with Bay Federal Credit Union,” stated Coast-Tel Federal Credit Union President and CEO Judy Meyers. “This vote of confidence in the merger means that we have the opportunity to provide enhanced services to our membership, including wealth management and investment services, access to a wider variety of personal, home, and auto loans, and much more.”
Bay Federal Credit Union President and CEO Carrie L. Birkhofer added, “We are looking forward to welcoming Coast-Tel Federal Credit Union members into our family and expanding our branch network to better serve all of our members throughout the Salinas-Monterey area. We believe that this partnership will be mutually beneficial and provide even greater options for our collective membership. We will continue to honor Coast-Tel’s long history of service and commitment to the local community.”