Contact: David Beck, Self-Help, david.beck@self-help.org, 919-956-4495; Sheree Eddie, Jax Metro, seddie@jaxmetro.org 904-360-5101
Jacksonville, FL — Jax Metro Credit Union and Self-Help Credit Union, headquartered in Durham, NC, today announced a merger, effective June 1, 2017. Jax Metro has 4,500 members and $43 million in assets.
Jax Metro was founded in 1935 to serve utility and port workers of the City of Jacksonville. The credit union’s current membership also includes city employees and school teachers in and around Jacksonville. Jax Metro’s board of directors had been exploring how to expand member services and, after extensive discussions, the board unanimously voted to merge with Self-Help Credit Union.
“All of us at Jax Metro are excited to combine forces with Self-Help,” said longtime Jax Metro President Sheree Eddie, who is leading the merger integration. “We are both mission-oriented credit unions driven by the desire to help our members and the communities where they live. Working together will only strengthen our ability to help.”
Self-Help Credit Union, chartered in North Carolina and headquartered in Durham, NC, has 64,000 members. It is part of the Self-Help family of nonprofit organizations that also includes Self-Help Federal Credit Union, serving over 70,000 members with branches in California, Chicago, Florida and Milwaukee; Self-Help Ventures Fund, a national non-profit loan fund; and the Center for Responsible Lending, a policy and advocacy organization addressing abusive lending practices. Since its 1980 founding, Self-Help has provided over $7 billion in financing to 131,000 families, individuals and businesses underserved by traditional financial institutions.
Jax Metro has four Jacksonville branches:
This is Self-Help’s second credit union merger in Florida. Community Trust Federal Credit Union in Apopka merged with Self-Help Federal Credit Union in 2016. Self-Help has long served low-income communities across Florida in other ways, partnering with banks to finance over 2,900 home loans and providing financing to high-performing public schools in Miami and Gainesville educating nearly 20,000 low-income children.
The merger, approved by state and federal credit union regulators, extends additional products and services to Jax Metro members, such as mortgages and online and mobile banking. Self-Help offers a full range of financial products and services including personal, vehicle and home loans, as well as a robust online, mobile and audio banking system.
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About Self-Help
Self-Help is a community development lender headquartered in Durham, NC. Founded in 1980, Self-Help has provided over $7 billion in financing to 131,000 families, individuals and businesses underserved by traditional financial institutions. It helps drive economic development and strengthen communities by financing hundreds of homebuyers each year, as well as nonprofits, child care centers, community health facilities, public charter schools and residential and commercial real estate projects. Through its credit union network, Self-Help’s two credit unions serves over 130,000 people in North Carolina, California, Chicago, Florida and Wisconsin and offers a full range of financial products and services. Learn more at www.self-help.org and www.self-helpfcu.org.