The SAFE Mega-Me Merger: "Here Come 'Da Judge"...

   Oops, Blue-handed? "Court will not force merger."[link]

May, 2026 [link]: "The merger would have united two credit unions with $13.5 billion in assets and more than 1,400 employees, creating the fourth-largest credit union in California."

"A merger between San Diego County Credit Union and California Coast Credit Union is not expected to move forward, following a judge’s decision issued Thursday afternoon. The merger, announced about a year ago, faltered for several reasons."

✔ "The court explained... writing that if the merger went ahead through a court order, SDCCU would be exposed to certain liabilities, lose autonomy and have to spend a lot of money on new hires, which would impact its ability “to operate and govern itself.” 

 Are mega-me mergers... "glutton-free"?  

Delay Of Game...

The beginning of Tuesday, October 28, 2025 has been temporarily delayed by...

   

😎 Not the only game which seems to go on forever! 

  Back with you in a few "minutes"... 

For SECU And Credit Unions: Is The Party Over?

  ... in looking at 2025!

Alright, we took a little Fall break to lick some wounds from the Annual Meeting, got by Thanksgiving and Christmas, survived New Year's and finally got all the young'uns and g-kids back in school! Time to start back up. 

While this round will continue to review the impact of the "New/New" at SECU, would like to broaden the discussion to include what is happening nationally with credit unions. Much is changing. Many folks believe that national trends toward open membership, commercialization, merger, consolidation, and national expansion mark the end of an era for credit unions, as originally conceived.

Some say these changes are a natural business evolution. Others claim "the new industry standard" is a betrayal of the original concept and fundamental principles of a credit union - and therefore a betrayal of individual credit union members. 

Some say that credit unions are simply giving members what they want and need in a "new" AI/ digital world. Others believe that boards and managers are simply "cashing in" for themselves out of personal greed. Well, let's take a look at some of those trends and how they are or may affect SECU.

To get started would ask you to review the following posts: 1) SECU: What Is A Credit Union? [link], 2) Why Was SECU Created? [link], 3) SECU As An Employee Benefit [link], 4) SECU: Statewide Organization [link], 5) SECU: Federal Insurance, No Longer Monitoring [link].

Why reread? Because we need to see if we agree on how credit unions were originally conceived, how SECU in particular got started, and how we have evolved to this point in time. Hope the review is pretty straight-forward, not subject to much debate. 

😎 The debate is over where next and why? Saddle up!

... do your homework! Final exam coming up... in 2025!