Webster First Eyes Expanded Territory
Webster First Federal Credit Union will open its first Middlesex County branch next year in Hopkinton, president and CEO Michael Lussier said today.
It would be Webster First's 18th branch overall.
Previously permitted to accept only members who live and work in Worcester County, Webster First's territory nearly doubled when it merged in May with Saugus Federal Credit Union. Since Saugus could accept members from Essex, Suffolk and Middlesex counties, Webster First can now do the same.
Middlesex County is home to the massive Digital Federal Credit Union, with more than $4 billion in assets, and Saint Mary's Credit Union, which Webster First has surpassed in assets with its acquisitions this year. It is now the third largest credit union in Central Massachusetts, according to the National Credit Union Administration.
Lussier insisted that the point isn't to compete with other credit unions, but to fulfill his institution's expanded charter.
He hopes to announce more expansions in the coming year.
"If it makes sense financially and it makes sense for our members, we will look at opportunities," he said.
Low interest rates and higher compliance costs associated with offering certain products and services have caused struggles for smaller credit unions, he said.
Lussier said Webster First's strong capital position has allowed it to take over struggling credit unions, which, he said, often go looking for bigger credit unions to acquire them rather than leaving it to the larger players to seek them out.
The credit union has acquired an addition $121 million in assets and approximately 10,000 new members in three mergers this year, boosting its assets to $619 million.
Webster First announced the acquisition of Winthrop Federal Credit Union this week and Fitchburg Municipal Employees Federal Credit Union in November.
Lussier said having two of Webster's new acquisitions so far away on the North Shore does not pose a problem because staff members know those markets.
"We're not starting anew," he said. "We're just reinforcing infrastructure that's already there."
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