Tulip Credit Union of Olympia set to merge with Harborstone

Tulip Credit Union of Olympia is set to merge with Harborstone Credit Union of Lakewood, the financial institutions announced Monday.

The merger, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close by Sept. 1.

Tulip, which has 1,200 members and $2.6 million in assets, has one branch at the Washington State Employees Credit Union building on Union Avenue in Olympia. The branch will remain open at that location, likely through the end of the year, then move, said Phil Jones, chief executive of Harborstone. He said the new location will retain the Tulip brand, but do business as Harborstone.

Harborstone, which has 78,000 members and $1.2 billion in assets, was formed in 1955 and was known as McChord Credit Union until it established a community charter and opened its doors to all Washington state residents.

Tulip was formed in 2001 to serve those with low to moderate incomes, and was based at the east side Olympia Food Co-op for about 10 years, said chief executive Bruce Cramer, who volunteered to lead the small credit union after he retired from OBee Credit Union in Tumwater. He said co-op members played a role in getting Tulip off the ground.

“If not for the co-op, it would not have come about,” Cramer said.

But because of its size, Tulip was limited in the services it could offer to members and its ability to recruit new members, and that finally resulted in the merger, he said.

There’s the added expense and complexity of complying with regulations, which can be a burden to a small credit union. Jones said he employs a team at Harborstone to handle those requirements.

The result is many smaller credit unions have sought merger partners. In the past year, nine credit unions have merged in Washington, according to state Department of Financial Institutions data. In October, for example, Port of Seattle Federal Credit Union merged with Sound Credit Union of Tacoma.

Although Harborstone is one of the largest credit unions in the state, Jones said, he believes in Tulip’s mission of serving low-income members.

“We’re really committed to them and we’re not going to abandon them,” he said. “We want to be part of the solution.”

This story was originally published July 18, 2016 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Tulip Credit Union of Olympia set to merge with Harborstone."