Hunter Mutual

Hunter Mutual

Former type	Credit union
Industry	Financial services
Fate	Merged with New England Credit Union on 1/1/2010
Successor	New England Credit Union/Community Mutual Group
Founded	1968 (as Upper Hunter Local Government Employee's Credit Union)
Defunct	1/1/2010 (continues as local brand of NECU)
Headquarters	was Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Australia
Number of locations	Muswellbrook, Scone, Aberdeen, Singleton, Murrurundi, Merriwa
Area served	Upper Hunter Valley, New South Wales
Services	Banking Investment Insurance Financial Planning
Number of employees	29 (2009)
Website	huntermutual.com.au Community Mutual Group

Hunter Mutual was a credit union based in and serving the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1968 as the Upper Hunter Local Government Employee's Credit Union.^[1] In 1971, it changed its name to the Upper Hunter Credit Union in 1971, and following a restructure of its operations in 2004, it took on the name Hunter Mutual. During the 1990s, when many major banks closed branches in small country towns, Hunter Mutual set up new branches areas within the Upper Hunter where this occurred.

Merger

In July 2009, a proposed merger between Hunter Mutual and the New England Credit Union was announced.^[2]

During December 2009, each credit union held their annual general meeting, with a majority of members (96% of Hunter Mutual members, 93% of NECU members) voting to approve the merger.^[3] The merger took place on January 1, 2010, with Hunter Mutual members becoming members of New England Credit Union, with the two computer systems to be merged in March, followed by the introduction of NECU's product range and fee structure. The merged entity has retained all locations, and Hunter Mutual CEO Col Sales has joined the executive management team. The combined company is the largest inland credit union in Australia.

It is planned that the New England and Orana Credit Union arms of NECU will be re-branded as New England Mutual and Orana Mutual, mimicking the Hunter Mutual name. All three will also have the common name of the Community Mutual Group.

Logos

Upper Hunter Credit Union logo, used from the late 1990s through to 2004, when they became Hunter Mutual

References

1. New England Credit Union, http://communitymutual.com.au/aboutus.html
2. Hunter Mutual, http://huntermutual.com.au/media/scripts/doc_download.aspx?did=170
3. New England Credit Union, http://www.necu.com.au/HMmergerinformation.html

External links

• Hunter Mutual