By Bridget Looby

In the Saginaw area, Catholic Federal displays a deep commitment to the communities and the Catholic flock.

Catholic FCU began in 1956 in the rectory of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Saginaw and then grew through new members and mergers. It expanded to encompass the 11 Michigan counties composing the Diocese of Saginaw. It can accept members of Catholic parishes in the Diocese of Saginaw, employees of the Diocese of Saginaw (or Catholic parishes) and employees of the Catholic schools who are either Catholic or non-Catholic, as well as relatives of members regardless of where they live or what their religion. The credit union serves 23,000 members and has over $210 million in assets.

You are pretty closely tied to the Diocese of Saginaw?

BL: Yes, our geographic area is the same as theirs. A few years ago, the credit union noted that other credit unions were converting to community charters so Catholic FCU wondered if it should convert as well. But during a planning session our Board and management decided to stay true to the credit union’s roots and stay primarily Catholic. One idea generated from not joining the mass exodus of local credit unions to community charters was to hire a Vice President of Business Development. Needless to say, I am that end result. I see a large part of my job as getting out into the diocese office, parishes, schools and their functions and telling people about our credit union.
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By Scott Vandeventer, COO/EVP, Evangelical Christian Credit Union

Less than 20 years ago ECCU had $40 million in assets. It now has over $1 billion in core assets and $3 billion in assets under management owing to a participation network. Its employees are passionate about helping their credit union’s member ministries.

Explain your credit union. 

SV: We exist to make evangelical Christian ministries more effective. Like any financial institution, we provide loans and banking services, but we are not a typical credit union. Instead of serving consumers, our primary market is ministry organizations, specifically churches, Christian schools, colleges, and other evangelical ministries. World Vision and Campus Crusade for Christ are two examples. Even with all this emphasis on serving non-profits, we do serve individuals.  Essentially, so we can focus on doing the best for ministries, we limit our services to individuals to just deposits, with the one major exception.  Because we serve Christian workers doing relief, linguistics and other kinds of work around the world, we are thrilled to provide this specific member segment with all the banking services the average credit union provides.  It’s really another way of serving ministries—the organizations that send them overseas like having a banking partner that will drop everything to meet the needs of their expatriates—today these folks are in more than 100 countries.
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By Kent Hartzler, CEO Mennonite Financial FCU

Mennonite Financial FCU uses both credit union and Mennonite means of networking to grow an institution based on long-established practices of mutual aid.

Mennonite Financial traces its roots to 1955, when it began under sponsorship by the Mennonite Publishing House of Scottdale, Pa. It expanded its FOM to Mennonites in Pennsylvania, then merged with other Mennonite credit unions in Ohio and Illinois. Mennonite Financial is now a 10,000-member; $82-million credit union operating out of Lancaster, Pa. Kent Hartzler has worked at Mennonite Financial for 10 years and been its CEO for a little more than a year.

Explain your FOM.

KH: Mennonite Financial is a faith-based credit union and also something of a contradiction. We serve a niche market that is located across all 50 states, with our charter being single common bond by association – we have no geographic boundary but serve any person in the Anabaptist community. This community is made up of Mennonites, Amish, Brethren in Christ, and related Anabaptist groups.

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Interview with Tony Mook, CEO, Cumorah Credit Union

Cumorah Credit Union is state chartered in Nevada for members of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). Begun in 1965, it has a new headquarters in Henderson, just outside Las Vegas; it has $185 million in assets, eight branches and 15,000 members. Cumorah CU takes its name from the name of the hill in central New York where in the 1820s Joseph Smith received the revelation that inspired the founding of the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS). Cumorah CU is privately insured; it participates in the FSCC shared branch network and the COOP ATM network. Tony Mook worked at two credit unions before being hired as the CEO for Cumorah in 1990. He serves on the Nevada Credit Union League Board, has been its chairman, and serves on the American Share Insurance Board.

Do you feel there is a difference working in a faith-based credit union?

TM: I’ve worked 29 years in credit unions, including American First in Ogden, Utah, and Golden West, one basically for government employees and the other initially for railroad employees. I’ve worked at Cumorah for 17 years. It’s clear to me that the core beliefs of the membership make a significant difference in the operation of each credit union. Here’s an example. We recently finished a new headquarters building and could lease space downstairs. A wellknown coffee retailer offered to pay a premium for the space, but we turned it down owing to conflicts with our religious beliefs.

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