Perspectives June 2009
My focus this month is to provide you, the member-owners of Space Coast Credit Union, information about an undertaking that, if completed as anticipated, will be a significant moment in the history of this credit union. It is important that we explain how this opportunity came our way, and how I anticipate that it will benefit the membership going forward.
As you may have seen on our web site and in the media, SCCU has been appointed by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) to manage Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union, a $1.6 billion, 200,000-member, 31 branch credit union headquartered in Miramar, Florida. We have also entered into an intent to merge EFFCU into Space Coast Credit Union.
First, I will look back a bit to explain our focus in recent years and how that relates to current actions.
SCCU exists only to serve our members. Several years ago we found ourselves trying to do everything and be all things to all people. We decided that we needed to decide what to do well, and do only those things extremely well.
For the last 10 years, we have been primarily focused with providing trusted financial services to working families, and providing them very quickly. Most of our households are stressed for time, and our goal is to serve our members so they do not have to wait long for the service.
What we offer is not attractive to everybody, but in order to be excellent at something, we had to determine what we were going to do, and also what we were not going to do. Our delivery processes are geared to working individuals who do not have time to sit around in our branch lobbies for hours to get service, so our structure is about being able to serve our members consistently in a fast, efficient manner. One of the main values we deliver to our members is giving them back some of their precious time.
Within this narrow focus of things we were going to do, we determined that we needed to facilitate the transactions in our members’ households by providing checking and payment methods, to finance the homes our members live in, and to facilitate and finance our members’ acquisition of the cars they drive to get around.
By applying a relentless focus on these few things, we have provided a great deal of value for our member-owners. SCCU is currently the number one mortgage provider in Brevard County, and the number one provider of car loans as well. We are also one of the largest providers of checking accounts and debit and ATM cards in our area. We have built a net worth that has given us the strength to weather, and even thrive in, economic downturns such as that which we all face now.
This will continue to be our focus, as our growth over the past 10 years tells us that this is what our members value.
When we were approached in early 2009 to assess the viability of a merger with EFFCU, we found a very compelling opportunity to partner with a credit union with a very rich heritage in South Florida very similar to ours, with a similar focus on convenience for their members. EFFCU has been serving members and their families since 1937, building a service network that now includes 31 branches, 74 ATMs, and a phone contact center.
Merging with EFFCU will enhance our effectiveness at doing those things we do well; mortgage lending, checking accounts and debit cards, and vehicle loans. We will be able to apply the efficiencies we have built in mortgage, car financing, and household transactions accounts to a market of 6 million people and 200,000 existing members, providing a faster return on this investment than could ever be achieved by gradual growth. We will further protect the interests of existing SCCU members by serving a market area with a more diverse economic base, protecting the credit union from exposure to a downturn in any specific area. Ultimately, the opportunity to merge in and efficiently manage EFFCU functions will result in stronger pricing and service advantages to members of both credit unions.
The Board of Directors and SCCU management assessed this situation very carefully, and even though EFFCU has had significant financial problems as the result of some poor leadership decisions, we have found a robust member base and excellent employees who have served their members amidst very trying circumstances.
I want to give my assurance that we have undertaken this merger in the best long-term interest of our members. We have not done this to support short-term growth targets, as those kinds of objectives are not really what we are about. Our entire focus is around the belief that service excellence and efficiency creates its own growth over time, which we have proven over the last several years.
By undertaking this expansion, we will ultimately be stronger and more efficient to assure that SCCU can continue to provide the excellence our member-owners demand and deserve.
Please note that there are no changes to any of your day-to-day interactions with SCCU. Service continues as usual. Continue to use the same phone numbers, web addresses, branches and ATMs you currently use. As new branches, ATM locations, and services become available to you as the result of an approved merger, we will provide this information to you.
Look to SCCU.com for further updates.
Douglas R. Samuels,
President/CEO
