In 1949, the College of St. Thomas sponsored the St. Thomas College Federal Credit Union. Eligibility for credit union membership as a fringe benefit for every St. Thomas employee has been offered ever since.
The now-named St. Thomas Employee Federal Credit Union, like all credit unions, is owned by its members, and is governed by those members through an elected board with oversight by the National Credit Union Administration. The NCUA is a U.S. government agency and insures each member account for up to $250,000.
The credit union maintains an office at 209 Loras Hall, and offers both basic savings accounts and loans. Savings accounts are limited to $100,000 per member, and the cumulative loan balance to any one member at any one time is $40,000. Membership requires filling out a member card, supplying the CU with a photocopy of a driver’s license or other official picture ID, and depositing $5, which buys one share in the credit union. Automatic payroll deduction is offered both for savings deposits and for loan payments.
The credit union was started in January 1949 when the then-College of St. Thomas, working with a small group of employees, agreed to sponsor a credit union on campus. The credit union’s field of membership included any employee of the college or of St. Thomas Academy (at that time located on the same campus as the college), and immediate family members of those employees. The start-up assets of the credit union totaled $150, cumulatively deposited by seven members.
As of Aug. 31, the credit union, with a membership of 1,225, had $3,558,669 in assets.
For more information about the credit union’s offerings and its hours of operation, go to Visit the Credit Union online, or call (651) 962-6660.