Brevard's Community Credit Union, Launch Credit Union announce plans to merge

Two large Brevard County-based financial institutions announced Friday their plans to merge operations.

Launch Credit Union , headquartered on Merritt Island, and Rockledge-based Community Credit Union of Florida , said Friday that plans to merge came after “extensive consideration.” They said the merger would combine the strengths of both credit unions, “creating a unified financial institution committed to enhancing products and services for members, and expanding community outreach across local Florida communities.”

The merger must be approved by regulators, as well as the memberships of both financial institutions.

With that approval, the merger is set to be finalized around July 2025.

How big combined operation would be

Overall, their combined assets would be more than $2.7 billion, serving more than 143,000 members with 22 branches throughout Brevard and Volusia counties.

For comparison, Space Coast Credit Union , headquartered in Baytree, is Florida’s third-largest credit union. It serves more than 654,000 members in 34 counties and has over $9 billion in assets.

What two CEOs say

“We are thrilled to announce our plans to join forces with Community Credit Union of Florida,” Launch President/CEO Joe Mirachi said in a statement announcing the proposed merger.

“This collaboration demonstrates the credit union philosophy of ‘People Helping People,’ because, together, our combined resources and shared commitment enable us to offer enhanced products and services to our members, while maintaining the high level of personalized service our members have come to expect. We are excited about the opportunities this merger will bring and the positive impact it will have on our communities.”

Community Credit Union President/CEO Laurie Cappelli said: “By joining together, we will create a stronger, more resilient financial institution dedicated to serving our members, employees and communities with excellence. Our members will gain access to more than 20 branch locations. Together, we will build on our legacies of trust, integrity and exceptional service to empower our members towards financial success. We look forward to a very bright future together.”

As member-owned cooperatives, and under the guidelines of the National Credit Union Administration, full merger approval is contingent upon member approval.

If the merger is approved, Mirachi will continue as the combined credit union’s president/CEO.

Cappelli — who had announced retirement plans several months ago — will move forward with her planned departure and serve in a consultant role as needed through system integration.

As for any institutional name change, the credit unions said "a thoughtful, independent and expert analysis of the brand would be conducted to determine the name of the combined credit union.”

As the merger process moves forward, both credit unions will provide information to their respective memberships via their websites, and other applicable communication channels.

Credit unions' history

Launch Credit Union’s roots go back to April 1963, serving employees and families at Kennedy Space Center. It was then called NASA-MILA Credit Union, and it had one small room, a handful of staff and 61 members. It later became the Kennedy Space Center Federal Credit Union, and expanded throughout Brevard and into Volusia County. It became Launch in June 2014.

It recently was named to Newsweek’s “America’s Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions” for 2024.

Community Credit Union of Florida started in 1953 under a state charter by a group of 10 teachers in Titusville. It originally was known as the Brevard County Teacher's Credit Union. Today, Community Credit Union serves all residents of Brevard, Indian River, Osceola, Orange, Polk and Volusia counties.

Forbes recognized CCU of Florida as one of America’s Best-In-State Credit Unions in 2024.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard's Community Credit Union, Launch Credit Union announce plans to merge