Q&A: SAFE Credit Union CEO talks merger plans, convention center name
Folsom-based SAFE Credit Union is pursuing a merger with Seattle-area firm BECU, a combination that would create the nation’s fourth-largest credit union, overseeing $33 billion in assets.
Since the November announcement, SAFE leaders have been fielding questions from regulators and making preparations for the planned merger, which must also be approved in a vote by SAFE’s members.
SAFE employs nearly 700 people, and holds the 25-year naming rights to one of Sacramento’s most visible downtown institutions: the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center.
In a recent interview, SAFE President and CEO Faye Nabhani explained why the credit union pursued the merger, what customers can expect and how tech advancements are pushing the industry to move faster.
Nabhani previously worked for KeyPoint Credit Union in Santa Clara for 22 years, most recently as chief lending officer. She was appointed SAFE’s president and CEO in 2023. Following the merger, Nabhani would serve as the Sacramento region market president for BECU.
The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Question: What has happened since you announced the merger in November?
Answer: We’ve been busy. Obviously, a big announcement, lots of conversations and working with our workforce and talking with our people about what it means for our members, what it means for them.
The regulatory applications process is extensive… There’s an initial submission, but even after that, there’s significant work that happens. It’s a very iterative process, as they go through the application, and ask 50,000 more questions. You answer more questions, and then they think more, and then they ask more questions.
Q: As the leader of the Sacramento region for BECU, how would you make sure that Sacramento members are still served to the same standard?
A: I am the voice of our members for (BECU CEO) Bev (Anderson). I report directly to Bev. … I have 30-some-odd years doing everything I do to try to help drive more value, better value, better opportunities, faster service to the members that I serve. That doesn’t stop just because my role changes slightly. I will continue to be that voice. I will continue to represent our members’ needs.
This is structured in a way to ensure that California is heard, that it doesn’t fade into the background. That is not the intention. The intention is to grow in California.
Q: Would you tell me about some of those technological advancements that you are, I’m sure, sprinting every day to manage? I’m sure that fraud protection is part of that, and front-of-house, user experience.
A: You pretty much covered it. There are things your members will see and things members don’t see. You just mentioned fraud. I think fraud is a really big one in the last, probably, three to five years especially. They’re just smart. They’re very smart, and they continue to look for ways to, you know, perpetrate.
Front of the house, as you’ve said, online banking and mobile applications. … I’m a big proponent of: How do we get our members’ money to them faster? Many of our members are paycheck to paycheck, and even an extra few days on their direct deposit, getting it early is really meaningful. Small things matter. We’re constantly looking for: How do we get members’ money in their hands, safely, within the fraud protections as well?
We just did a really major upgrade of our mobile application around late last year. (I’m) really proud of that. It looks phenomenal. But that’ll be good for maybe a couple of years, then you’re doing another one. You’re constantly refining, you’re constantly adding.
Q: Does the merger imply any changes with SAFE’s naming rights to the convention center?
A: Nothing changes. I don’t mean to be oversimplifying, but that’s sort of the sentiment. This is a growing commitment, not a retracting commitment, to the region.
This combination is about expanding our investments and not just again in the value to members, but, again, to community and to philanthropy. So the convention center commitment will continue.
Q: If the merger goes through, what will be the tangible changes for members, with their banking?
A: They will, just as a continuum, start to experience differences in lower loan rates, better deposit rates, different program products that will be available to them that aren’t available today. … BECU also has a loan reprice program, where they lower certain loan rates as members’ credit improves. SAFE doesn’t do that today. … I’m really excited about the first-time homebuyer grant program that BECU offers.
They’ll open the branch doors, they’ll walk in, and they’ll see the same members. They’ll transact, initially, on the same systems, and they’ll have the same information, same account. Everything will be the same.
Light in disruption and high in value, is our objective.
This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
