News

Trusted Fraternal Life and Catholic United Financial
One Step Closer to Completing Merger by January 1, 2025

9/26/2024

SignatureMilwaukee, WI (September 26, 2024) – Trusted Fraternal Life, a Milwaukee-based fraternal life insurance organization, is pleased to announce that delegates for Catholic United Financial, headquartered in Arden Hills, Minnesota, voted in favor of a merger with Trusted Fraternal Life.

The vote was a necessary step in the process for Catholic United Financial and allows the societies to move forward to receive regulatory approval. Delegates voted 137-6 in favor of the merger at their Triennial Conference on September 14. The Trusted Fraternal Life Board unanimously voted to approve the merger on September 24.

“We are well on our way to building the NextGen fraternal and achieving our purpose: to facilitate consolidation in the fraternal sector, while preserving unique identities and traditions, and achieving the necessary scale to be relevant, to compete, and to grow,” said John Borgen, President and CEO of Trusted Fraternal Life.

“This is a significant step in our organization’s 146-year history serving Catholic communities across the Upper Midwest,” said Michael Ahles, President, CEO and Board Chair of Catholic United Financial. “Our identity, legacy and commitment to Catholic values will continue, but with even greater financial strength and more product offerings to our members.”

The result of this merger will be an organization with nearly $3 billion in assets and over 215,000 members. Trusted Fraternal Life will be the sixth-largest fraternal in the United States; there are about 70 fraternals in the country.

The merger is expected to take effect January 1, 2025, pending regulatory approval.

 

About Trusted Fraternal Life

Trusted Fraternal Life’s vision is to be the innovative leader in fraternal partnerships and consolidation while growing existing business and engaging more people to enjoy financially secure, purposeful lives. Created in March 2024 by Catholic Financial Life, Trusted Fraternal Life is committed to building the NextGen fraternal benefit society. The organization’s financial strength rating was upgraded to an A with a stable outlook in 2023 by the Kroll Bond Rating Agency and the society has been recognized as a Top Workplace 11 years in a row. For more information, visit www.trustedfraternallife.org.

About Catholic United Financial

Catholic United Financial is a member-owned, not-for-profit financial services company, connecting people of faith, protecting their future, and generously impacting parishes, schools and communities in the Upper Midwest since 1878. The company provides life insurance, retirement products, Medicare supplement insurance, credit union services and charitable giving planning for its 75,000 members. Catholic United Financial returns a portion of its profits to communities through programs like the Catholic United Financial Raffle, Post-High School Tuition Scholarship, and more. Catholic United Financial was certified as a Great Place To Work™ in 2023 and 2024. For more information, visit www.catholicunitedfinancial.org.

 

Contact: 
Debbie Michalak, Director Marketing & Communications
(414) 278-6487  | Debbie.Michalak@cfl.org 

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