The $1.6 billion Travis Credit Union is merging the ailing $177million Metro 1 CU of Concord, Calif., effective next spring, itwas announced Friday.

Travis, based in Vacaville and with 19 northern Californiabranches, said the consolidation will expand its presence in EastBay and in the state's Central Valley.

A Travis spokeswoman confirmed that NCUA had previously askedMetro 1 to seek out a merger partner though the agency has definedthe merger as voluntary.

Metro 1, with 3.3% net worth, lost $4.6 million in 2009 and $3.5million for the first three quarters of 2010.

In a statement, Travis said the merger proposal was accepted byNCUA on Nov. 3.

Metro 1, which recently changed its name from First MetropolitanCU and has 19,000 members and 49 employees, maintains five branchesin Antioch, Benicia, Concord, Richmond and Oakley.

Patsy Van Ouwerkerk, Travis president/CEO, said the addition ofMetro 1 members fits in the CU's "strategic plan to expand itsreach in northern California" with the merger set for completion inlate spring.

Diana Dykstra, the new president/CEO of the California/NevadaCredit Union League, told a Contra Costa paper that Metro 1 hadsustained heavier amounts of real estate problems and losses thanother credit unions, adding, "they were really stuck in a bad areaand got hit harder than most others."

Van Ouwerkerk also said Travis "certainly in the future isinterested in expanding in the Central Valley, in Alameda Countyand in Solano County. Mergers are part of our growth strategy."