topic Digital Federal Credit Union and First Tech Federal Credit Union Announce Intent to Merge in Credit in the News

Digital Federal Credit Union and First Tech Federal Credit Union Announce Intent to Merge

ksimmons3 — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 18:06:22 GMT

Digital Federal Credit Union and First Tech Federal Credit Union Announce
Intent to Mergehttps://www.dcu.org/dcu-and-first-tech.html?deliveryName=DM112641#video

Credit Union M/A First Tech Merged Into DCU

ejbarraza — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 17:59:26 GMT

https://www.firsttechfed.com/pages/announcement?utm_source=ACQ&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MKTG_9302024_OCOM_POC-Members_Email_9302024&utm_content=link1&campaignId=6472

Re: Digital Federal Credit Union and First Tech Federal Credit Union Announce Intent to Merge

RootDet — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 18:10:17 GMT

will be interresting. I have accounts at both.

Re: Digital Federal Credit Union and First Tech Federal Credit Union Announce Intent to Merge

Revelate — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 18:32:15 GMT

Going to be interesting indeed, DCU is my trusted anchor secured account that would never get closed. They also had the godlike HELOC which I hope to be able to leverage later.

First Tech, well they didn't close the CC that hasn't been used in 5 years so that's something.

Written press release link:

https://app.go.firsttechfed.com/e/er?s=1216207526&lid=17303&elqTrackId=ba977f74497f4a6d863ec5d721cb8433&elq=e6aa7a0b2af8424fb9ea7a916163a05e&elqaid=4542&elqat=1&elqak=8AF500F177C5318E88642B78C2F0FF7541A9AE48CB5659870980644A331753FF655D

Re: Digital Federal Credit Union and First Tech Federal Credit Union Announce Intent to Merge

coldfusion — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 18:37:09 GMT

In reading between the lines this "merge" appears to be more like an assimilation of DCU by First Tech with governance by DCU's charter, not unlike what PenFed did when they took over Progressive whose charter allowed them to remove georestrictions.

Re: Digital Federal Credit Union and First Tech Federal Credit Union Announce Intent to Merge

CreditCuriosity — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 21:06:20 GMT

Yep got it as well.. Least I have my credit card I have wanted with First Tech forever but turned down by first tech for excessive credit .

Email I got if anyone wondering. Late 2025 so basically a year away why even bother announcing now though lol.

Dear Valued DCU Member,

45 years ago, the employees of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) founded a credit union for employees, retirees and their families to reach their financial goals collectively. Thanks to the culture of innovation that we adopted from the DEC employees who founded us in 1979, Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) has grown to serve more than 1.1 million members nationwide. This growth stems from the trust you place in DCU when you refer your family members and co-workers from a variety of workplaces across the nation, inviting them to bank with us.

Today we are announcing another exciting milestone in our proud history - our intent to combine with a peer credit union on the West Coast, First Tech Federal Credit Union. Together, we will form a powerhouse in the industry - a coast-to-coast credit union with assets of approximately $28 billion, serving nearly two million members nationwide, with over 50 branches in eight states.

Why DCU and First Tech?

Our combination with First Tech means that after the merger, we can collectively provide you with an enhanced financial experience beginning with unrivaled modern technology-enabled experiences, a more robust set of investment and insurance options, a coast-to-coast branch network, and expanded hours of information center support.

We have a lot in common with First Tech – another reason this combination makes sense. We have aligned values, similar membership, a shared DNA rooted in innovation and a heritage of serving technology employees and families. Together we will continue our history of innovation and growth which has been DCU’s hallmark since our founding.

What does this mean for all of you – our members?

For now, nothing will change as we - DCU and First Tech - will continue to operate independently as we work toward regulatory approval from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and from First Tech members who will be moving to DCU’s charter. We expect those approvals will not occur until the second half of 2025.

Very little will be different until then. Your accounts and memberships will be the same. We will continue to work together to proudly serve all of you - our members - as we have always done—in the DCU Way.

We will always remain true to our values as a member-owned co-op that continues to put member, employee and community needs above profits. You can also read more about the benefits of this combination by visiting our new landing page.

What’s next?

Until we start the integration process with First Tech in late 2025, please continue to use your DCU accounts and services in the same ways you always have.

We are committed to sharing regular updates with all of you about the valuable new benefits the combined credit union will bring. You’ll see regular updates in our monthly member newsletter and on DCU.org. We will also launch a dedicated portal for you to share your comments or questions with our leadership in coming weeks.

The security of your accounts is always our priority. A change like this can invite fraudsters who seek to take advantage. We will never call or email to ask you to act on your accounts within an email, but rather we will direct you to log in to your DCU Digital Banking message center, to call our Information Center or visit a branch. Please remain vigilant to any communications you receive.

We are excited for DCU’s next chapter as it will help us bring you an even better member experience while staying true to those same principles that launched us 45 years ago. As always, thank you for your loyalty and your trust as we continue to partner with you in achieving your financial goals.

With gratitude for your continued membership,

Shruti Miyashiro

President and CEO

Digital Federal Credit Union

Re: Digital Federal Credit Union and First Tech Federal Credit Union Announce Intent to Merge

SouthJamaica — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 21:28:33 GMT

I wonder if, and if so how, their being in this period leading up to a merger affects their underwriting practices.

Re: Digital Federal Credit Union and First Tech Federal Credit Union Announce Intent to Merge

cashorcharge — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 20:23:22 GMT

@coldfusion wrote:
In reading between the lines this "merge" appears to be more like an assimilation of DCU by First Tech with governance by DCU's charter, not unlike what PenFed did when they took over Progressive whose charter allowed them to remove georestrictions.

Funny....I read it the other way.....perhaps because of the charter comment I read it to be DCU acquiring FT

FT has had both fans with good income and not much credit getting decent approvals....and DCU hasn't typically denied anyone for high TCL. Though I can't remember seeing DCU SL's over $15,000 whereas those with FT that fit their criteria have been luckier.

Also with DCU being pretty much an EQ puller (likely because their East Coast based) and FT being EX (Northern California) it will be interesting to see if (or which) they adopt as their go-forward.

Re: Digital Federal Credit Union and First Tech Federal Credit Union Announce Intent to Merge

Revelate — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 17:43:21 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
I wonder if, and if so how, their being in this period leading up to a merger affects their underwriting practices.

Probably not at all for now. It takes a bunch of work to merge financial institutions, it'll be a while before they get on the same loan origination system and underwriting. They may try to syncronize that before at least in rates and overall UW guidelines but I wouldn't expect that soon either.

Re: Digital Federal Credit Union and First Tech Federal Credit Union Announce Intent to Merge

MyDataMyChoice — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 20:01:41 GMT

So I included DCU in my ch7 for a a small balance <2k

i joined first tech this morning and wonder if upon merge what will happen to my account(s)

Re: Digital Federal Credit Union and First Tech Federal Credit Union Announce Intent to Merge

cashorcharge — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 20:05:38 GMT

@MyDataMyChoice wrote:
So I included DCU in my ch7 for a a small balance <2k

i joined first tech this morning and wonder if upon merge what will happen to my account(s)

That will be interesting to see...especially because when you burn a CU, they typically don't let you back in as you've hurt the "membership" not a big corporation with loss reserves to move on from.

Re: Digital Federal Credit Union and First Tech Federal Credit Union Announce Intent to Merge

Royalbacon — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 05:42:28 GMT

Not really sure how this benefits anyone other then the higher ups at both credit unions. I'm also curious to see, because these are two extremely large credit unions merging, if this will attract more scruitny and criticism then other credit union mergers. Seeing as how these are already both among the top 20 largest credit unions in the USA, i'm not sure what kind of increased economies of scale they'll gain that will benefit any of their members in any meaningful way.

They are very similar in that they are 2 very large credit unions (Both are in the top 20 largest credit uninos in the USA) and both have a relatively small amount of physical branches despite their very large asset size and both credit unions brag about how they have members in all 50 states. I guess if you're a DCU member in the Western part of the USA near a First Tech branch or a First Tech Member on the East Coast near a DCU branch, you'll now have a local branch to go to. Although both credit unions already participate in shared branching so that's a moot point.

And if you're banking at an out of state credit union, you probably don't care about physical branches and rarely ever go inside one (Such as myself, I've been a member of numerous out of state credit unions and online banks over the years and still am) Those kinds of members already utilize online banking and the mobile app to their full extent, Co-Op ATMs to make cash deposits when they need to and use a shared branch in the very unlikely and uncommon scenario they need to go inside of a branch for something.

One other thing i've seen some longtime DCU members lamenting about on social media, DCU was originally started to serve employees of the Digital Equipment Corporation and named after that company, and is one of the few remaining large credit unions still named after their original company despite the fact that company hasn't existed for decades now, and with this merger the last remaining remnant of Digital Equipment Corporation will be gone (if this merger goes through)

GTE Financial headquartered in Tampa, Florida is one of the only other credit unions I know of still using the name of the original company that has not existed for many decades that the credit union was originally created for to serve (GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation merged with Bell Atlantic in 2000 to form Verizon Wireless)

Wings Credit Union, formerly Wings Financial Credit Union, headquartered in Apple Valley, MN was originally created to serve employees of Northwest AIrlines which hasn't existed in a very long time, but they ditched the Northwest Airlines name many, many, many years ago for Wings Financial Credit Union, and now just Wings Credit Union.

Re: Digital Federal Credit Union and First Tech Federal Credit Union Announce Intent to Merge

MeowingTheCat — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 13:16:12 GMT

And they're officially approved to merge by First Tech member voters last week. They're keeping the DCU charter but they're renaming to First Technology (First Tech) FCU starting on January 1, 2026. Shruti Miyashiro will lead a new CEO/President of First Tech FCU once Greg Mitchell is expected to be retired on December 31, 2025.

https://www.dcu.org/dcu-and-first-tech.html

The integration takes about 12-18 months.