For the Antigo Times

On July 31 members of CentralAlliance Credit Union voted overwhelmingly in favor of the decision to merge with CoVantage Credit Union. The merger had already been approved by regulators. With the recent positive vote by CentralAlliance members, which was the final approval needed to move forward, the two financial cooperatives are planning the merger to be effective January 1, 2019.

Founded in 1934, CentralAlliance Credit Union serves approximately 5,200 members and has assets of nearly $80 million. According to Tonni Larson, CEO of CentralAlliance, “The staff, along with myself and our board of directors, see this as a wonderful opportunity for our members and for our community. CoVantage shares the same beliefs that we do – of service, value, and commitment to improving the lives of members and employees well into the future. There will be many benefits of membership in this larger credit union, including a wider variety of products and services.”

Charlie Zanayed, President/CEO of CoVantage Credit Union, shared Larson’s excitement in bringing the two financial cooperatives together, saying, “We are humbled and thankful for this opportunity, and look forward to being able to serve the communities of Neenah, Appleton, and Menasha with branch locations and state-of-the art technologies. We feel CoVantage has a lot to offer the members and the communities served by CentralAlliance Credit Union, including great rates and low fees; a full line of loan and deposit services for personal and business use; an extensive network of ATMs; 7 am to 7 pm Contact Center hours; and more. In addition, CoVantage member-owners have a history of benefiting from the success of their cooperative through patronage, a program similar to CentralAlliance’s Loan Rewards Program. Last year was the 36^th consecutive year CoVantage directors authorized patronage to borrowers and savers, and it amounted to over $3 million being returned directly to members.”

All three former CentralAlliance offices will remain open with new, expanded office hours and all staff will remain employed with CoVantage.

CoVantage Credit Union, founded in 1953 and headquartered in Antigo, has assets in excess of $1.5 billion and serves over 100,000 member-owners through 16 offices across Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.