The credit union that serves Conexant Systems Inc.’s employees, Newport Beach-based Cal West Credit Union, has been acquired by Financial Partners Credit Union in Downey.
The deal will grow Financial Partners’ $456.2 million asset base by $23.5 million, add 3,400 members to its 58,000-person roster and give it a branch office in Newport Beach. The deal tentatively is set to close April 30.
“(Cal West) members will get better service. We took all our products and made them available to them. It’s just tough to do that if you are a small credit union,” said Joe Schroeder, president and chief executive of Financial Partners.
Financial Partners is the former Rockwell Federal Credit Union. It changed its name after Rockwell International Inc.’s local aerospace facilities were acquired by the Boeing Co. and the credit union’s management decided to pursue a wider range of members. Now, about 70% of Financial Partners’ members are Boeing or Rockwell employees or their family members; the rest are from other companies.
The acquisition is a good match for both organizations because they have similar membership, said Valerie Avila, vice president of lending for Cal West, who is acting chief executive since the lead executives already have left the organization.
The deal is another example of consolidation among credit unions, following a similar wave in the banking industry in the past few years.
According to Schroeder, credit unions now are being acquired at a rate of 300 to 500 annually.
“The big ones are eating up the little ones,” Avila said.
Consolidation allows a smaller credit union to keep its membership by offering a wider range of services.
“Some credit unions that are smaller cannot offer more services because they can’t afford them,” Avila said. n
