The mystery is over. The name of Canada’s 3rd largest credit union will be Servus.

The credit union’s board chose the name because the Servus brand was created only 18 months ago, is recognized in the Edmonton market and can be trademarked.

Earlier this year, three credit unions in Alberta (Servus, Common Wealth and Community Savings) announced they were merging to create the third largest in Canada, with $9 billion in assets, almost 400,000 members, 2,000 employees and 100 branch locations. The merger left two big questions unanswered:

1. What will the name of the credit union be?
2. What will happen to Young & Free, the phenomenally popular Gen-Y promo from Common Wealth CU, one of the the merging credit unions?

In the comments of a previous post here at The Financial Brand, representatives from both Common Wealth and Currency Marketing, the agency behind Young & Free, reassured concerned readers that yes indeed, Young & Free would survive the merger.

The selection of Servus as the name comes as no surprise. First off, Servus was the larger credit union in the merger. It’s also a far more unique and interesting name than either of the other two options, Common Wealth and Community Savings, which are both fairly generic names. That’s what makes it possible to get trademark protection with real teeth. And the double-meaning behind the name is a nice touch: “service” and “serve us.”

Being able to secure a clean trademark is critical when changing names, a lesson some financial institutions frequently learn the hard way. (For related coverage on the pitfalls of financial trademarks, see today’s article from The Financial Brand on TD’s troubles with the Commerce name.)

Common Wealth and Community Savings have until October 31, 2008 to phase-in the new Servus name.

You can read the official press release here (PDF).

“In the financial industry,
if you don’t grow, you go.”
– Tim Haegelin, CEO

San Antonio City Employees FCU had a name change in the works since 2006, but, in the words of Tim Haegelin, President/CEO, it became “an inevitability” following a community charter.

“It’s a matter of survival. We believe we’ve had such a very, very strong tradition and a strong legacy. We don’t want to merge, and we don’t want to go,” said Haegelin.

On its website, the credit union said the new name reflects “multiple generations of credit union members moving toward a sound financial future.”

About the new logo, Haegelin said, “Capital letters are very formal.” The credit union also had this to say about its new logo:

“The green and orange waves symbolize movement from one generation to the next, as traditions are passed on. Unique to other institutions in San Antonio, the green and orange make us stand out and say we’re not like the other banks in town. We’re here for you. The bright, fresh colors are native to the San Antonio landscape, showing our pride in being a part of this community.”

It took about a week for crews to change signs on the credit union’s six branches and 26 ATMs.

According to an article in The CU Times, the credit union’s new slogan will be “What’s next.”

The credit union becomes at least the fifth Generation credit union in the United States. The other four include:

• Generations Credit Union (also typeset with a lowercase ‘g’)
  
• Generations Credit Union
• Generations Community Credit Union
• Generations Family FCU

“It’s great to put together a nice shiny logo and tag line and say, ‘okay here it is.’ But if people don’t get caught up in the excitement, it’s not going to work.” – Teresa Freeborn, Xceed FCU President

Xerox Federal Credit Union recently announced its plans to become ‘Xceed Financial’ at a special event held for more than 200 employees at Universal Studios in California. According to The Credit Union Times, many Xerox staff were flown in from branch locations back east.

No reason was given for the name change, and no information was available at the Xerox FCU website. It doesn’t appear that the credit union will be pursuing a community charter in the near future, so it’s reasonable to assume that a request from Xerox (The Document Company) is driving the name change.

With the new name comes a new tagline, “At work for you,” part of a simultaneous rebranding effort. The new tagline reflects the credit union’s commitment to focus on Xerox and other SEGs.

The CU Times reports that the name is the result of about nine months of consultancy, research, testing and meetings with Xerox and other major SEGs.

Trademark Status:
No one has yet registered “Xceed” or “Exceed” with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office under International Class (IC) 036 Financial Services. There are a few federally registered trademarks in other ICs, mostly technology and bio-sciences.

Domain Name:
The credit union will apparently use either xceedfinancialcu.org or xceedfinancialcu.com as its URL. The CU registered domains for ‘Xceed’ earlier this year. (As of the posting of this article, there were only holding pages at both sites.)

The domain xceedfinancial.com has been registered by a mortgage company in Arizona for the last couple of years, although the website appears to be no longer active. The following screenshot was taken from Archive.org:

The URL xceed.com is owned by an established technology company.

There is an Xceed Mortgage in Toronto.

Bottom Line:

• The new coined name ‘Xceed’ is distinct.
• ‘Xceed’ has positive connotations in the financial industry.
• The name links back to the credit union’s history with Xerox through the use of the letter “X.”
• The letter “X” is a “techy” naming device (if not a tad cliché), which is why SEGs will find it comfortably familiar.
• While there are a number of other companies with the Xceed name, it doesn’t look like the credit union will face any lawsuits.

According to the credit union’s newsletter, “It was time for us to find a name that reflects the values of this credit union.”

The newsletter emphasized the number of ways the credit union is “focus”ed on members and their needs.

CEO Dean Wilson wrote, “Change is constant and our member elected board decided the time was right for a name changeand brought it to our membership who glowingly endorsed the change.”

The credit union has about $40 million in assets and over 5,500 members.

The newly-minted ‘Focus’ will be joining three other “Focus” credit unions, one in Florida, one in Ohio and another in California. There’s also ‘The Focus FCU’ and ‘Community Focus FCU.’

Note the logo draws attention to the initials “CU.”

PDF of the newsletter on file at here The Financial Brand: Wauwatosa CU newsletter

This 23-page PDF from the U.S. District Court of Alabama should serve as a cautionary tale about what can happen if you choose a new name that’s too similar to someone else’s – especially when you’re in the same market.

It all started on March 26, 2005 when BF Goodrich Employees Federal Credit Union chose to become ‘The Credit Union of Alabama Federal Credit Union‘ (sic, there are indeed two references to “credit union” in the name). This irked ‘Alabama Credit Union,’ who immediately fired off a cease-and-desist.

Alabama Credit Union then appealed to NCUA, asking them to rescind the name change. The NCUA declined to get involved.

The Alabama Credit Union Administration protested The Credit Union of Alabama’s choice in name, saying it would “cause confusion and was not in the best interest” of either credit union.

One party sued another and vice versa. Alabama Credit Union accused The Credit Union of Alabama of:

• deceptive trade practices
• unfair competition
• common law trademark infringement

The Credit Union of Alabama counter-sued for:

• cybersquatting
• tortious interference
• mail fraud
• RICO violations
• fraudulent suppression
• unfair competition
• conspiracy

Alabama Credit Union was awarded a summary judgment on all points related to The Credit Union of Alabama’s countersuit.

At least one member of The Credit Union of Alabama isn’t too happy about all this legal wrangling. In a letter to The Tuscaloosa News, Jerry Logan said, “The money spent on this lawsuit could have been returned to the member-owners in more dividends and also to the employees in a well-deserved raise. Instead it has gone to an attorney.”

Key Question: How will the courts view the fact that there are 17 credit unions with the word “Alabama” in their name, including ‘Alabama Central Credit Union‘ and nine others whose names start with “Alabama?”

Reality Check: The NCUA may approve a name change, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get sued for trademark infringement. The NCUA only performs cursory examinations of trade names. It seldom – if ever – gets involved in trade name battles, even when they’ve okay’d a new name under dispute. The US Patent & Trademark Office oversees all federal trademarks, not the NCUA.

Bottom Line: Which option do you think would cost more? Hiring an experienced naming firm? Or settling these lawsuits…and potentially having to rename again?

According to the credit union’s press release, the name change is the first since the credit union was founded in 1968.

On its website, the credit union said, “We changed our name to reflect who we are and who we serve.”

The credit union was founded by five Frick employees to service employees and their families. In July 2003, the credit union was granted a community charter. Because the credit union did not change its name, however, many did not know they could use its services, according to the release.

PCA Federal Credit Union’s primary sponsor closed their facilities and “the credit union no longer had a viable occupational bond,” so it becomes ‘Greater Wayne Community FCU.’

According to the credit union’s website:

“Although PCA Federal Credit Union had other diversified groups in its field of membership it was not sufficient to sustain credit union growth for the future. After careful consideration the credit union board of directors decided that community charter serving Wayne County Ohio would be the most logical and prudent field of membership to pursue.”

According to The Credit Union Times, Belvoir FCU President and CEO Patricia Kimmel, says the new name reflects the changing community while still maintaining ties to its rich heritage.

At its website, the credit union says the makeup of their potential membership has and will continue to change, noting that “Fort Belvoir is now a more civilian installation.”

The U.S. Defense Department is planning to move 20,000 people to Fort Belvoir, so the credit union decided the time was right to redefine itself as “all-inclusive for our members and potential members and to find a new name.”

“Belvoir” is French for “beautiful to see.”

Bottom Line: Belvoir Credit Union said it best, “The more things change, the more they stay the same!”

[UPDATE: July 20, 2008. That didn't last long. The CapCom name is out, as the credit union has agreed to merge under DFCU Financial. The original story follows, unedited.]

“Our former name was just too long,” said CapCom President Renee DeMarco. “It will make life easier on many levels for our members and employees.”

“The process is to decide who you are and what image do you want to project through your name and marketing,” said credit union CEO Mary Beth Moorhead in a Lansing State Journal interview.

About the naming process, Moorhead said, “We pulled together everybody from the board of directors to top management to branch managers and all employees. We just kept pulling in these focus groups, and we came up with no less than 200 names.”

In the end, the credit union decided it didn’t want something “drastically different,” and instead “circled back to something familiar.”

The new name will go on the credit union’s three branches immediately, while the new name and logo will appear on checks when reordered and plastics when reissued at expiration.

Regarding the new logo, Moorhead explained, “It’s kind of a stylized three C’s. It stands for a continuing commitment to community. That’s the anchor we like to keep with our members.”

The credit union also has launched a new website.

The credit union has a community charter serving 11 counties in Michigan. It has no connection with the international game developer, Capcom.

This is the fifth name change for the credit union:

1936 - Municipal Employees Credit Union
1974 - Lansing Municipal Credit Union
1983 - Lansing Community Credit Union
2002 - Capitol Community Credit Union
2008 - CapCom Credit Union

Reality Check: The “-com” suffix is strongly associated with communications and entertainment companies, such as Comcast and Viacom.

When the parent company of AFG Industries decided to roll-up its subsidiary under the holding company moniker, AGC (Asashi Glass Company), its credit union decided to follow suit.

In this PDF newsletter, AGC Credit Union said:

AFG Industries changed their name recently. Since we are the financial institution for the employees and their families of this company, your Board of Directors decided to do the same. Effective September 1, 2007 AFG Employees Credit Union became AGC Credit Union.

The credit union says nothing else is changing.

With only $15 million in assets and one office location, the transition should be fairly smooth and inexpensive.

Key Questions: What happens if the sponsor changes names again? Or gets acquired? Merged? Goes bankrupt? Has an Enron-style implosion?

With $87 million in assets and 13,000 members, Pittsburgh Teachers Credit Union will officially become ‘Riverset,’ effective January 2, 2008.

According to this article, President and CEO Christine Chojnicki said the credit union’s name was being amended to Riverset in an effort to broaden the organization’s appeal to groups other than teachers. Chojnicki said the name change will make the credit union “more inclusive” of all its members, as well as members or employees of some 60 companies and organizations representing health care, retail, hotel and public sector employees.

She said the credit union isn’t moving toward a community charter or away from its core members, even thought it will be open to anyone who lives on Pittsburgh’s South Side, where the credit union is based.

Chojnicki is quoted as saying, “Our members have been very receptive to the change.”

Michael Wishnow, senior vice president of communications for the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association, said there’s a trend among credit unions to move toward community charters and away from select employee groups, or SEGs.

“When you look at how credit unions grew up, it was usually around a single, large employer,” Wishnow said. “But there are fewer and fewer large employers.”

(more…)

In an article published by the Parma Chamber of Commerce, the credit union said the name change was “a result of their expansion throughout the years, and that it would “better represent the 18 parishes that they currently serve.”

St. Charles Borromeo Federal Credit Union was originally established in 1942 to serve the parishioners of St. Charles Borromeo Parish.

Virginia state law says credit unions are to hold a member vote where new names need to be approved by a simple majority. Newport News Shipbuilding Employees Credit Union decided to keep the old name and get a DBA for BayPort instead.

BayPort’s president and CEO, George R. Dudley Jr., said the credit union’s roster of 97,500 members included only 15,500 who were affiliated with Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard.

Weber Marketing Group helped the credit union make the change. Read their full press release here.

“Our new name reflects the mileposts that mark the progress of a journey toward a future destination, and our goal as a credit union is to help every member achieve financial freedom at each junction in life,” said Dan Fiorino, president/CEO of the credit union an article in the Credit Union Times.

From the credit union’s website: “We wanted the new name to be easy to say and spell, easy to recall, convey the emotional meaning and project the appropriate image, and be distinctive and unique.” (Read the credit union’s complete rationale for the name change here).

About the logo, the credit union says the following:

In support of the new name, a new logo was designed that projects how mileposts mark the measurement of a journey towards a destination. The building blocks that grow larger in shape and stronger in color imply growth and building towards ones financial goals. The new colors were selected to establish a fresh new appearance and unique colors in an industry that traditionally uses blue and green. The italic font represents moving forward, the bold weight projects strength and its overall appearance is modern while being professional.

The new name is supported by the tagline, “Your Goals. Your Path.” The credit union says the tagline reflects its “focus on members needs first and foremost.”

Founded as a financial cooperative serving railroad employees under the name WEDINOPA Credit Union in 1952, the $57 million financial institution has grown over the course to serve more than 7,000 members in Pierce County and the entire Western Washington area.

No explanation was offered for this slight evolution from GE Federal Credit Union. But in CEO Patrick L. Taylor said in the credit union’s newsletter, “We feel it is necessary to ‘refresh’ and enhance our image as a leader among credit unions. It appears the name change was only a small part of an overall image makeover, although it doesn’t look like the credit union will be changing is website address.

Indiana state law requires members approve credit union name changes by a 75 percent margin, but a vote was probably not required when Professional Federal Credit Union shortened its name to ‘Pro Fed.’

Powell River Credit Union in Canada announces it is becoming First Credit Union in this press release. The release says that a new name was needed to overcome consumer confusion.

Dave Craigen, CEO of the newly minted First Credit Union, says:

“The name ‘First Credit Union’ was an easy and logical choice…It honours the dedicated founders of our organization. Through the name First, we embrace and pay tribute to our rich heritage, as well as position ourselves for future growth and diversification.”

(more…)

Brunswick Employees Federal Credit Union says it will become Port City Federal Credit Union in its monthly newsletter.

The name ‘Port City’ is a common reference to the city of Muskegon on the eastern banks of Lake Michigan where the credit union is based.

The $20 million credit union says it is changing its name to support the county-wide community charter it recently received, although they may have been given a mandate from Brunswick, a company best known for their billiards equipment.

The name change comes with a new tagline: “Your Community Credit Union.”

The change reflects a continuing trend where the historical ties between well-known brands and their credit unions are being severed, presumably to protect the integrity of the parent brand.

If that’s the case, then we should expect a similar announcement from Brunswick’s other credit union soon, also named Brunswick Employees’ Credit Union with $7 million in assets and about 1,300 members.

After inviting members to submit names, Canora Credit Union in Canada will become ‘Crossroads.’ According to an announcement from the credit union:

“‘Crossroads’ has a meaning that is both physical and philosophical. It represents those moments when one comes to a point where a path must be chosen that will have both large and small affects on one’s life.”

The credit union said the name change was necessary because it needed to “rebrand itself.” It went on to explain that “a new name will help the credit union continue to grow and prosper for years to come.

In its entry form for member suggestions, the credit union gave these instructions:

“Please keep in mind that the name will be the credit union’s primary brand name for years to come. It will be used to represent our services and professionalism to our members across Canada, and to attract new members in our communities and abroad, so the name should not be town specific. It must also be flexible enough to be used with additional services we may provide in upcoming years. We are a growing, developing organization, and our new name must be able to help take us into the future.”

A blog post from Market Insights on the Canora name change urges caution, saying that name changes are not the answer to everything, and that a financial institution needs to embrace the opportunity to revisit its brand as part of any renaming process.

Here’s the credit union’s story behind the name:

“The ‘Pacific Spruce’ name was chosen as part of the history of Toledo, which was one of the largest spruce producers in the world. The U.S. Army’s spruce production division built the Toledo mill and the railroad.”

Reasons for the name change, as cited in this article:

• We need to grow.
• We need to grow (said twice).
• Open up the membership.
• Add younger members.

They didn’t mention “to shorten our name,” but it probably goes without saying.

Dallas W. Bergl, President and CEO of the credit union, said, “We feel our name needs to reflect the future of this credit union at a time when we are seeing significant changes to our core sponsor group. As Bayer Corporation continues to make changes to their operations, we wanted to make sure our members know we are looking to the future and are committed to maintaining our mission of ‘improving our members’ financial well-being.’”

Federal credit unions are exempt from Indiana state laws that require credit union name changes be approved in a member vote by a 75 percent margin.

In a press release about the name change entitled “Changing Our Name But Not Our Mission,” the credit union said, “The name change is a result of the growth and expansion of the membership of BFCU and a forward-thinking management team and board of directors.”

It’s unclear why the credit union chose to capitalize the name.

INOVA Federal Credit Union has twelve branch locations in six states, serving over 33,000 members and over 400 select employee groups.