Ent beefs up its presence in Denver

   Ent Federal Credit Union will merge next week with a small Denver credit union that will expand Ent's membership and branch network in the state's largest city.

   US Alliance Credit Union, with 7,000 members and three branches in downtown Denver and Firestone, will be absorbed by Ent on May 31. US Alliance serves mostly federal employees in the Denver area, including the U.S. Mint, U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Agriculture Department.

   Ent and US Alliance had been discussing a merger since late last year and talks heated up about three months ago, said Jim Moore, Ent's senior vice president. US Alliance members approved the merger by a 9-to-1 margin April 3; federal and state regulators also approved the deal.

   All 35 US Alliance employees have been offered jobs at Ent, which employs about 550, Moore said. The $59 million credit union was started in 1951 to serve U.S. Treasury Department employees.

   US Alliance lost $7.7 million last year, mostly because it set aside $7.44 million against losses on delinquent loans, according to National Credit Union Administration data. More than 13 percent of its $56 million loan portfolio was delinquent at the end of last year.

   Although Ent is the state's largest credit union with $2.4 billion in assets, it had few Denver-area members and just one of its 24 branches in the area. Ent has been seeking Denver-area branch sites for years, but found building branches there too expensive, Moore said.

   "US Alliance has a long history of exceptional member service and community support and we look forward to partnering with them to continue this tradition of excellence," Charles Emmer, Ent president and chief executive, said in a press release.

   Ent's last merger in early 2007 allowed it to expand into Pueblo and Rye by absorbing the 16,000-member Decibel Community Credit Union.

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