After a federal court ruling thwarted the first merger attempt of Bridgewater, Mass.-based Bridgewater CU and Lawrence, Mass.-based Merrimack Valley Credit Union, the two are again pursuing a merger, the Boston Business Journal reported Oct. 9.

The two credit unions first proposed to merge in January. However, the two credit unions withdrew their merger application after a federal judge quashed portions of a new National Credit Union Administration rule that would have provided credit unions greater expansion ability, according to the report.

Merrimack Valley CU, then named Merrimack Valley Federal Credit Union, applied to convert from a federally chartered credit union to a Massachusetts-chartered credit union. The charter conversion would allow the two credit unions to dodge the court ruling and again pursue the merger, according to the publication.

The Massachusetts Division of Banks approved the charter conversion on Sept. 25, according to the state regulator's September activity report.

Members of the two credit unions will vote on the merger for a second time on Oct. 29, the Boston Business Journal reported, adding that the merger is expected to be completed in early 2019.

As of June 30, Merrimack Valley CU had approximately $616.6 million in assets and Bridgewater CU had approximately $382.2 million in assets, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.