SECU: From Employee Benefit To Statewide Organization

   ... how did that happen?

How did SECU become such a large credit union?

With over 2.7 million members and @$50 billion in assets, SECU is the second largest credit union in the U.S. How did that happen? The answer is a focus on families.

While most credit unions started out as employee-benefit, borrowing and savings clubs, some adjustments were quickly adopted in terms of membership. Instead of being required to close their accounts when they left employment, members such as retirees or workers who became disabled sought to retain their accounts. Sounded reasonable and credit unions nationwide moved to a "once a member, always a member" format. Even if you left employment with the "sponsoring company", you were permitted to retain your accounts and equal membership rights. 

The second significant change was permission for family members to join with equal membership rights. Supporting the families of employees also seemed to make great sense.

You will note from past comments, there were several questions asking what percentage of SECU members are currently state and public school employees? That could be anybody's guess. There are currently @ 60,000 active state employees and perhaps @125,000 active public school employees, with @335,000 retirees. Hard to get to 2.7 million members from that base! 

You might be surprised to learn that only @25% of SECU members are active or retired state and public school employees. It has been that way for decades. The math on that guess is easy. The "typical North Carolina household" used to be husband, wife, two kids. When all became full-fledged SECU members, three out of four (75%) were not and never were employees of the state. 

Serving members and their families well in North Carolina has been the winning "formula" for SECU in the past.

The SECU Board has declared a need to move away from that formula. As an SECU member-owner, do you understand what is in store with that new direction, new culture (the "new/new")? 

... don't you think you should?

SECU: Credit Unions As An Employee Benefit

  

    ...  access to credit as an employee benefit?

No one questions that credit unions were created in the U.S. to provide access to credit for working men and women - particularly those of "modest means". Why? Because "back then" many payroll offices were confronted with regular, recurring employee requests for "a short term advance" prior to payday. Money is always in short supply for most folks - both "back then" and now.

Not helping an excellent employee in a time of need was "bad for business" and employee relations. Sending them to a loan shark was worse. "Payday lending" at rates usually exceeding 100+% - both "back then" and now - creates a death spiral of financial dependency for a consumer. Shackles not made of iron, but shackles just the same.

. ..." I owe my soul"... that can be a problem, ... beware.

Employers embraced "company credit unions" as an added benefit which could be used to assist and retain employees. Employers liked having an independent, employee-owned and led lender making the decisions on which employees qualified for loans - choices the employer did not want to make. Employers didn't want to be in the lending business, nor have to "advance" company funds. To help out, employers frequently provided back office support, payroll deduction, office space and assisted employee-member volunteer leadership of the credit union.

SECU, although a separate, independent organization, was "the company credit union" for North Carolina state government and the North Carolina school systems. The idea of a credit union as an important employee benefit caught on! 

Other N.C. companies also formed credit unions - R.J. Reynolds, AT&T, IBM, Champion Paper for their employees - as did many municipalities, local post offices, our military, and churches. At its peak, there were 360+ different credit unions in North Carolina, today just 60 remain. 

Is SECU still "the company credit union" for North Carolina state workers? What has changed?

  In order to know where you're going, it often helps to know where you have been.