GROTON, Conn.— Members of Scient FCU have voted in favor of merging into CorePlus Credit Union, according to SFCU. The credit union said more than 85% of its members voted in favor of the combination.
As the CU Daily reported [here], the $344.2 million Scient FCU and the $351.2 million CorePlus Credit Union said the plan follows 15 months of “thoughtful consideration” and will involve a leadership partnership model: Ray Currier, president and CEO of CPCU, will serve as CEO, and Chris Maynard, president and CEO of Scient, will serve as president.
At the time the merger was announced, Scient, which has 18,732 members, reported $205,455 in net income and net worth of 9.29% as of March 30. Norwich, Conn.-based CorePlus, which has 29,738 members, reported net income of $567,100 and net worth of 9.08% as of the same date.
‘Energized’ by Support
“We’re energized by the strong support from Scient members,” Currier said in a statement following the vote. “This is a thoughtful, multi-phase process by design, being executed with prudence and diligence, and in consideration of our valued members. We promise to keep members well-informed, and all updates will be communicated clearly and effectively.”
Currier said the two credit unions will officially merge on Oct. 1. Between now and then, mailings regarding the merger process and a new fee schedule will be sent to Scient members, according to CT Insider.
“Many of the fees that Scient customers will be paying after Oct. 1 will be going down,” Currier told CT Insider.
Although the merger will legally take effect Oct. 1, both credit unions will continue serving their respective members independently until the core banking systems are combined in mid-2026. Scient members can expect only minor changes until then, Currier told the publication.
New Branding Coming
The credit unions said they are planning a new name and branding to be introduced in the first quarter of 2026.
CorePlus has seven branches; Scient has four. All existing locations are expected to remain open, except for the CorePlus Groton branch, which will be combined with the larger Scient branch on Colver Avenue, which has drive-up lanes and Saturday hours.
The Founding of the Credit Unions
Scient was founded in 1968 by four Pfizer pharmaceutical scientists and was known as Pfizer Employee Credit Union. It was renamed Scient in 2012 and later merged with New Haven Postal Employees Credit Union in 2015 and New London Municipal Employees Credit Union in 2022.
CorePlus was founded in 1936 by 27 educators as Norwich Connecticut Teachers Federal Credit Union. Over several decades and mergers with local employee credit unions, the Norwich Pequot Teachers Credit Union changed its name to CorePlus.
