La Trobe Country Credit members approve CUA merger
20 August 2009
La Trobe Country Credit Co-operative Limited (LCCC) members voted to merge with CUA (Credit Union Australia) at a special general meeting in Morwell on 17 August 2009.
Chairman of LCCC, Mr Richard Stanistreet, said the merger has many advantages for LCCC members:
“Members will now have better access to a broader and competitive range of products and services compared with what LCCC was able to offer. The CUA Board and management are also committed to the mutual ownership structure and focus on member service and value.”
Chris Whitehead, Chief Executive Officer of CUA said just like LCCC, CUA is a financial institution that is owned by its members, not external shareholders. These things, along with fairer fees and first class service are why one in five Australians choose to be credit union members.
What appealed to the LCCC board was that CUA embodied all the values and member oriented focus that LCCC possessed. However, CUA also brought with it a much broader range of competitive products with better rates; their own health fund; travel and financial planning services; a large 70-plus branch network and an Australian-based national phone and web banking system.
Mr Whitehead said that the two LCCC branches at Morwell and Traralgon would continue to operate as CUA branches with the same staff. Therefore all their strong member relationships and Gippsland community ties would continue to grow with CUA.
“CUA also bring their strong community partnerships with the RSPCA and Relationships Australia to our region,” Mr Stanistreet said. He added “All in all, this merger really is a change for the better for the Gippsland region.”
The merger is effective from 1 September 2009 subject to regulatory approval.
