For members of Mid Oregon Credit Union, merging with the much larger Northwest Community Credit Union would broaden the Bend-based financial institution’s operating base, increasing its strength.

For Northwest Community Credit Union, joining forces with Mid Oregon would give it a bigger footprint in Central Oregon, where it currently has two branches, one each in Bend and Redmond.

The two credit unions’ combined assets would make a merged entity the sixth-largest credit union in Oregon, based on assets reported to federal regulators in June.

“It’s a great fit for us,” Matt Purvis, Northwest Community’s vice president of marketing, said Monday. “There’s a nice synergy there.

“Bend and Redmond are places we’ve been for years. But we could certainly use more horsepower, and Mid Oregon’s resources certainly would help with that.”

The credit unions announced late Friday that they had signed a letter of intent to explore a possible merger, adding another element to the ongoing shake-up in the region’s financial services sector.

In the past 14 months, four banks with operations in Central Oregon have been shut down and sold, two credit unions announced a proposed merger, and the state’s largest credit union, OnPoint Community Credit Union, opened branches in Central Oregon.

While financially sound, Mid Oregon operates strictly in Central Oregon, the epicenter of the real estate crash, said Bill Anderson, its president and CEO.

Springfield-based Northwest Community, with more than four times the assets, conducts business essentially along the Interstate 5 corridor, with branches stretching from Beaverton in the north to Medford in the south and North Bend to the west.

“For Mid Oregon, (the benefit) is the geographic diversity it brings,” Anderson said.

At this stage, Anderson said, Northwest Community’s branches in Bend and Redmond would seem to fit well with Mid Oregon’s five current locations: its headquarters near Northeast Neff Road and Northeast 27th Street, a branch at Northeast Third Street and Northeast Olney Avenue, and branches in Madras, Prineville and Redmond.

He predicted no employees would be laid off in a potential merger.

Mid Oregon, the only credit union based in Bend, has 19,349 members and assets of $138 million, according to filings with the National Credit Union Association.

Northwest Community has assets of $644 million and 68,364 members, according to the association, and has 15 branches.

Mid Oregon’s carefully worded announcement “to investigate potential benefits of combining financial and organizational resources” stems from its desire to proceed openly, Anderson said, and because it’s not a done deal. In the end, any merger would be up to Mid Oregon’s membership.

“It’s a very fragile process,” he said.

If the merger moves forward, Mid Oregon would be considered the merging credit union and Northwest Community the continuing credit union, he said. Whether some part of Mid Oregon’s name would remain is being discussed.

“The Mid Oregon brand is very, very strong,” Anderson said, “so there’s a lot of value in seeing if we can (maintain it).”

While acknowledging Portland-based OnPoint’s entrance in the market — and last month’s merger announcement by Grants Pass-based SOFCU Community Credit Union, which has a branch in Bend, and Coquille-based Oregon First Community Credit Union to merge early next year — Anderson said Mid Oregon’s discussions with Northwest Community began before those events.

“(They) will bring greater competitive pressure to bear,” he said, referring to OnPoint’s expansion and the potential SOFCU-Oregon First merger.

But competition is good for consumers, Anderson said, and gives them more choice.

The potential merger must be vetted in a due-diligence process, he said. It also must receive approval from Mid Oregon’s board, federal and state regulators and the credit union’s membership.

“Really, it boils (down) to cultural issues,” he said, “how members are served.”

On the Web

For more information about the potential merger between Mid Oregon Credit Union and Northwest Community Credit Union, visit www.midoregon.com.