Changes coming for U.P. credit union

UPDATE: 5:48 p.m.

“We’ll change our name to Honor Credit Union,” SIR Federal Credit Union CEO Ron Lauren said. “It’ll change to their signs and their name, and we’ll follow their policies and procedures. We’ve looked at them; they pretty much mirror what we do now.”

Lauren also says many more branches will be available to members after the name change to Honor Credit Union. “We’ve already got (permission to serve) most of the counties in the U.P. Now we’ll have the whole state of Michigan for people to join the credit union. We’ll look at the next three to five years, expanding across the whole U.P., (and the) northern Lower Peninsula,” he said.

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U.P.-based SIR Federal Credit Union will partner with St. Joseph-based Honor Credit Union.   In a press release, the two institutions say the union will align their resources and benefit members of both credit unions.

Officials with the two credit unions say both are dedicated to helping members with financial success and reinvesting in their local communities. With a joint mission, the join operations are a good match.

SIR Federal Credit Union currently has three locations in the Upper Peninsula: Negaunee, Marquette, and Gwinn.

“We are thrilled to be entering a partnership with Honor Credit Union ,” states Ron Lauren, CEO of SIR Federal Credit Union. “Before reaching out, we had done our research, and found that Honor Credit Union’s core values align with ours, making them a perfect fit.”

“We’re very fortunate to have this opportunity,” comments Scott McFarland, Honor CEO. “We’re excited about the benefits to our current members, as well as the opportunity to invest even more in the State of Michigan.”

Regulatory approval and a positive member vote from SIR Federal Credit Union members is still needed before SIR can become a part of Honor Credit Union. The partnership will result in a $550 million dollar organization with over 51,000 members across the State of Michigan.