The Portage Credit Union and Austin Credit Union are half way to amalgamation after last night's Austin Credit Union members' vote in Austin.

418 members cast votes, with 335 voting in favour of the merger. Austin Credit Union CEO Brent Budz was really impressed with the way it turned out.

"Obviously our board, and management group, are very excited about the results tonight. The expectation was to have some members attend the meeting, and we're very happy that we had so many members feel that coming to this process was very important to them. We're very happy with the results."

Budz says a lot went into this. "We did a lot of planning for this amalgamation, and we went into this thing knowing we had to get a lot of information in front of members and provide them with the opportunity to ask questions. So the member informational meetings, and the literature that we have produced have really helped to talk to people, and let people know what was going on."

Brent Budz

He adds there were some questions, and they were welcomed. "We're just so glad that so many people got engaged in the process -- and this is the first step of two -- tonight's a big step for the Portage Credit Union and we're excited to hear their results as well," he says.

Portage Credit Union CEO Dave Omichinski says the next step is tonight's meeting in Portage.

"We're looking forward to similar results. The feedback we're getting from our members overall is really, really positive. I hope they make sure to come out to vote to make this a reality."

Tonight's PCU meeting is in the MNP building on the island in Portage la Prairie, with registration starting at 7 p.m.