Charlotte Metro Credit Union gets new HQ, new name: ‘Skyla’
New headquarters to be built on Central Avenue as credit union grows
The following article appeared in the November 4, 2022, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with business and general news. Sign up for free:
Skyla Credit Union, formerly the Charlotte Metro Credit Union, is building a new headquarters on Central Avenue. (Rendering image by Liquid Design & Architecture)
One of Charlotte’s largest credit unions has a lot on its plate these days: It’s building a new headquarters, and it’s rolling out a new name.
The Charlotte Metro Credit Union, which started in 1962, will now be known as “Skyla Credit Union.” And it’s planning to build a new headquarters beside its flagship location on Central Avenue in the Elizabeth/Plaza-Midwood area to house an estimated 150 workers.
In an interview this week with The Ledger, CEO Eric Gelly explained that the moves are natural given the credit union’s growth. It merged last year with Premier Federal Credit Union and now has branches in Asheville and Greensboro. The “Charlotte Metro” name might not play well outside, well, the Charlotte metro area.
Short, fun to say: Asked how the company landed on the name “Skyla,” Gelly said: “We were looking for a name that was welcoming, and in the world that we’re in today, you can’t trademark actual words, so you have to get a bit more creative. It’s fun to say. It’s short. It’s easy to pronounce. It fits all the things we’re looking for in a name.”
Signs at the credit union’s 17 branches are expected to be replaced by the middle of the month. Work on the new two-story, 50,000 s.f. headquarters is expected to start in early 2023.
Skyla Credit Union is the 7th-largest credit union in the region by assets, according to The Charlotte Business Journal’s Book of Lists. It is the largest that is headquartered in Charlotte and has eight branches in Mecklenburg County.
So what’s next? Gelly says the credit union will focus on expanding its mobile and online platforms. It’s open to growing through additional mergers, “if the merger makes good sense.” And it’s cutting new TV ads — and contemplating whether to run them locally during the Super Bowl, as it has done in the past.
“We’re leaning toward ‘yes,’” Gelly said.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project