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And the new name for the newly merged SEFCU/CAP COM CUs Is…

July 21, 2022 – The $8-billion credit union formed by the merger of SEFCU and CAP COM FCU has introduced its new name.
SEFCU CAPCOM
Effective Aug. 1, the new institution will be called Broadview FCU. The new name came only after hundreds of other names were considered.
In an earlier interview with the Albany Business Review, Michael Castaellana, CEO of SEFCU and future CEO of the future Broadview FCU, said of the new name, “This is one of the elements of this that I had underestimated — the time and complexity of the name.”
The credit unions also had to sort through the new branding.
“At one point, I wanted to be like Prince and just use a symbol,” Castellana told the Albany Business Review, referring to the process. “We know we need to let go, but this is what our members know. They know our name, they know our logo. They know that when you see that they know what they’re gonna get. So that’s certainly a birthing process.”
Castellana further told the publication the name is critical because there are decades and decades of people understanding the CAP COM and SEFCU names, respectively. “So it’s a little scary to say, ‘OK, we’re just going to part with those. And now we’re going to give you a new name that in some cases, we need to tell you a story about, to get you to understand it’,” he told the publication.
‘Bringing Name to Life’
The merged credit union will have more than 500,000 members and 1,400 employees. CAP COM CEO Chris McKenna told the Albany Business Review the latter are critical to making the new name and brand work.
“Employees bring a name to life and bring a brand to life,” McKenna was quoted as saying. “So, we’re counting on, regardless of what the name ends up being, it’s those same great employees that members have worked with every day that are gonna bring that name to life. And everybody will get used to it.”