Columbia Basin Federal Credit Union, a Moses Lake, Wash.-based institution with three offices, plans to merge into Horizon Credit Union, of Spokane Valley.


Brian Grytdal, Horizons vice president of marketing, says the boards of both credit unions have approved the merger, and the organizations are awaiting regulatory approval from the National Credit Union Administration and the Washington state Department of Financial Institutions, among other steps, to complete the combination.


Columbia Basins general membership is scheduled to vote on the merger after the regulatory hurdles are cleared, which could be in mid-November. With member approval, the merger could be completed by late January, Grytdal says.


Mark Neumann, Columbia Basins president and CEO, says, As we see it, our members, employees, and communities will be the big winners.


Columbia Basin currently operates two offices in Moses Lake and one in nearby Ephrata, and Grytdal says those offices would use the Horizon name following the merger.


Those locations would give Horizon its first branches in Central Washingtonits westernmost branch currently is in Davenport, Wash., about 30 miles west of Spokane.


The merger would give Horizon a total of 17 branches in Washington and North Idaho, and more than 35,000 members. As of earlier this month, Grytdal says, the two credit unions had combined total assets of about $320 million.


Formed in 1947, Horizon was known as Trentwood Employees Federal Credit Union and served Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. employees and their families. The organization changed its name to Horizon in 1981, after its scope of membership grew beyond that of just Kaiser workers and families.


Columbia Basin started in 1940 to serve U.S. Bureau of Reclamation employees, but like Horizon, eventually grew its membership base beyond its initial focus.