Access Credit Union and Assiniboine Credit union will not merge.

Last night, members voted on the merger and the ACU count fell short by only 25 votes. Had it passed, the resulting credit union would have been the biggest in Manitoba.

Darryl Loewen, chair of the ACU board of directors said the result was shocking.

"Sort of stunned silence. Everyone I talked to last night expected a sufficient 'yes' vote," he said, adding there were no signs the vote wouldn't go through.

There were questions at meetings about jobs and branches, but no serious protest, Loewen said.

"[We thought] it's a slam dunk, a foregone conclusion. And that might be part of what kept the yes vote or more of the yes vote at home," he said.

"Maybe we were up against the Jets last night and that was a factor, but those are guesses."

The vote result was 63.2 per cent in favour of the merger — 25 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass.

Assiniboine Credit Union members, in comparison, voted overwhelmingly in favour, over 90 per cent.

Loewen says there can be a petition to have another vote.