Infinity Federal Credit Union calls off merger with Illinois CU

Photo / Tim Greenway Elizabeth Hayes, President/CEO of Infinity Federal Credit Union, says it has called off a proposed merger with an Illinois credit union.

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By Staff

Infinity Federal Credit Union, the Westbrook-based banking services cooperative that had planned to merge with Vibrant Credit Union of Moline, Ill., has called off the deal.

After months of due diligence, Infinity declined to go forward with the merger but ended the negotiations amicably, according to a news release Monday.

By email, Infinity President/CEO Elizabeth Hayes later told Mainebiz: “In our original communications of the proposed merger, we discussed benefits such as the ability to maintain local control for Maine. As talks progressed, our ability to maintain local decision-making came into question, making the merger less beneficial for our members and employees."

The merger would have created a credit union with nearly 300 employees, 70,000 members, and more than $1 billion in assets. The combined entity would have maintained headquarters in Illinois, with 17 branches in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana and Maine, and contact centers in Reno, Nev., and Westbrook.

Now Infinity is open to finding another partner.

“Infinity FCU is in the fortunate position of being independently strong and able to be selective when choosing a partner,” Hayes said in her email. “Mergers will continue to be on the table as a possibility.”

With $345 million in assets at the end of 2018 and about 18,000 members, Infinity was ranked No. 5 by assets in a Mainebiz list earlier this year. The credit union has branches in Westbrook, Portland, Bangor and Arundel, and is building a new one in Scarborough.