Crosstown Civic and Access Credit Union members vote in favour of amalgamation
Manitoba—The Boards of Directors of Crosstown Civic Credit Union (CCCU), parent company of AcceleRate Financial, and Access Credit Union (Access) announce the approval of the merger by their memberships. The announcement of the results were shared at each credit union's Special Meeting of Members which was held via teleconference the evening of June 25, 2020.
Voting took place through an online and in-branch vote from June 22-25. A two-thirds majority vote was needed. We are pleased to share that the resolution was passed with 87% of the members that voted in favour from Crosstown Civic Credit Union and 77% in favour from Access Credit Union.
The membership vote followed the completion of due diligence activities and a subsequent recommendation to merge from the Board of Directors of both organizations. Two-thirds of eligible votes were required to carry the Special Resolution. The positive vote means that the credit unions will become one entity effective January 1, 2021. At that time, the new credit union will be called Access Credit Union.
"I am thankful to our membership for their overwhelming show of support for this merger and in the many conversations we have had over the past few months," said Curt Letkeman, Chair of Access Credit Union. "We're excited by this outcome because of the opportunities the merger will bring to our members, employees, and local communities," says Letkeman.
"We pursued this merger because we believe that together we can build a stronger credit union, not just today, but for future generations," says Ingrid Loewen, who will be the Board Chair of the merged credit union. As there is no geographical overlap in branches, the merger of these two credit unions means that each will maintain a strong community foothold and branch presence.
Amalgamating as one credit union provides the opportunity to take advantage of shared technology and member service channels while continuing to invest in technological enhancements to continue to deliver local, personalized financial services to individuals, businesses, and to the farm community. "Our combined credit union will be stronger and will have more capacity to return direct financial benefits to our members. This merger is really about the future: as the landscape in financial services continues to evolve, this partnership will enable us to exceed expectations for our members and the communities we serve," said Loewen.
The merged credit union will have combined $5.5 billion in assets, over 89,000 members, more than 400 employees, and 26 full service branch locations. The added scale and resources will allow the amalgamated credit union to invest more in the technology, products, and services that members and local businesses now expect and need to compete effectively in today's competitive marketplace.
Rescheduled Merger Vote Announced
Following the temporary orders recently announced by the provincial government concerning ongoing business during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Boards of both Access and Crosstown Civic Credit Union are announcing their intention to facilitate the previously postponed member vote on the proposed merger from June 23rd to June 25th. The formal notice for the member vote was published in the Winnipeg Free Press on May 28th, 2020.
On Thursday, May 14th, the Government of Manitoba introduced new orders under The Emergency Measures Act that would temporarily provide businesses with the ability to hold their member meetings and conduct their voting by means of telephone, electronic or other communication facilities. These provisions will allow both Access Credit Union and Crosstown Civic Credit Union to maximize member participation in this important vote while maintaining the health and safety of both members and staff through social distancing.
"When we postponed our original vote on March 19th, it was to take reasonable action while fully supporting our members' well-being, knowing that we would reschedule the vote when it was appropriate to do so." shared Curt Letkeman, Chair of the Board of Directors for Access Credit Union. "These new measures demonstrate support for moving ahead to a vote with our respective memberships."
Ingrid Loewen, Board Chair for Crosstown Civic Credit Union added, "We now have an opportunity to reschedule the Special Meeting of Members and Vote on the proposed Merger to which both Boards are tremendously supportive. The COVID-19 pandemic has further strengthened the importance of this merger for the future of our combined credit unions."
More information on the details of this vote will be shared shortly.
Term maturity notices distributed in advance
Term maturity notices with a renewal date of May 17, 2020 or sooner will be distributed in the first As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, we are taking a proactive approach to advising our members of their maturing investments.
With this in mind, we have decided to distribute our term maturity notices to our members well in advance of the maturity date to give members time and opportunity to review their options and make an informed decision with their investment.
AcceleRate Financial will be distributing all term maturity notices with a renewal date of May 17, 2020 or sooner in the first two weeks of April 2020. All maturity notices with a renewal date of May 18 to July 1 will be distributed before April 30, 2020. We encourage all members receiving these notices to review them and advise us of desired next steps prior to the maturity date.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding these letters, please contact us at:
Toll-free (within Canada): 1-888-954-9543
Winnipeg: 204-954-9543
Fax: 204-954-9805
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We thank you for your continued patience and patronage.
POSTPONED: Member vote on merger
Dear Members,
When faced with such uncertainty, making responsible and informed decisions based on key sources of information, is vital. Member and employee safety is of utmost importance to us and is critical to our decision making. To that end, with the growing uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 virus and mounting global concerns, we have been tasked with making some very difficult decisions.
As part of that commitment to safety, and in an attempt to take reasonable yet appropriate action while fully supporting our members' needs and regulatory requirements, we have decided to postpone our Member Vote and corresponding Special Meeting of Members for the proposed merger with Access Credit Union. The event and online vote was to be held on March 19, 2020. This action is intended to support the local and national efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 infections through social distancing.
We will look for an opportunity to reconvene the Special Meeting of Members and Vote on the proposed Merger with Access Credit Union in the future and will share additional information when that timing is determined. Please keep your voting package, which contains your personalized ballot and password as it will remain the only method to cast your vote once the meeting is rescheduled. We apologize for the inconvenience the short notice has caused, and we look forward to meeting with you when it is declared safe for us to do so.
