The $44 billion Navy Federal Credit Union has been doing some branch makeovers this year, relocating, remodeling and refurbishing branches worldwide while also making plans to add eight new U.S. facilities from Phoenix to Alabama later in 2011.
The fixup project, including one relocation just this week at a Marine base in North Carolina, has also focused on modernizing some structures, adding drive-throughs, making lobby improvements and moving from leased to owned space, officials said.
“Yes, we have six additional branch relocations scheduled this year and moving from leased space to owned space allows Navy Federal to retain more control over its brand,” said Della Butler, regional manager for the credit union’s Southeast Region. That includes the ability to add drive-through branches.
Butler said the eight additional branches slated to open this year include those at Fort Riley in Manhattan, Kan.; Fort Rucker, Enterprise, Ala; Patrick AFB at Cocoa Beach, Fla. and those in Phoenix, Jacksonville, Fla.; Fort Carson, Colo., Fort Leavenworth, Kan. and Dallas.
A new branch also recently opened just outside the gates of the Army’s Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C.
Meanwhile, Patrick Miller, vice president of Navy’s Western Division, which covers the CU’s acquisition last year of the failed $605 million USA Federal CU of San Diego, noted that newly acquired overseas facilities in Japan performed well in serving military personnel after the earthquake and tsunami. He said CEO Cutler Dawson and Lee Gound, executive vice president, traveled there to meet with military and staffers of the 3.7 million-member credit union.
Navy Federal’s 23 new southern California branches in San Diego and Riverside counties, Miller said, “have already seen a rather dramatic double-digit increase in new account activity and member visits.” Moreover, “operationally, we’re particularly pleased that 87% of our new team members who came to us in the merger are still with us,” Miller said, adding that at least one new branch is planned in Riverside, Calif. in 2012.
