vttale t1_ivstjxs wrote on November 10, 2022 at 10:28 AM

Reply to comment by Thick_Piece in By a narrow margin, VSECU members approve a merger by numberafterz

As a whole, I think it will be. I voted in favor, as a very long time VSECU member, even though it'll mean some adjustments that I'll doubtless grumble a little about. I will miss the old name but also agree that it was confusing to potential members.

ThisIsSabby t1_ivt9mfv wrote on November 10, 2022 at 1:23 PM

The vote was 51% to 49% so there’s a very healthy amount of skepticism about it. I voted against because a lot of the appeal of an institution like VSECU was that it’s not a big bank. The merger also diminishes competition between institutions, which in a small market like Vermont probably harms consumers in the long run. Also, and not for nothing, it’s unclear (at least to me) how this benefits ordinary members.

vttale t1_ivtakk3 wrote on November 10, 2022 at 1:31 PM

Yeah, all totally fair points. I'm probably close to 51/49 just on my own internal feelings and would have been pretty happy just to continue with the way things were. I've been a member since the 90s precisely because of the not-a-big-bank thing, but it's also hard to ignore that size does matter positively in other areas. I just couldn't come up with a solid prediction of how it would likely be more bad than good, and trusted our board.

Loudergood t1_ivypgis wrote on November 11, 2022 at 4:32 PM

I voted against it because all the arguments for it that I saw were "bigger stronger, new services we can't offer now" But the details as to what that actually means we're sadly lacking.