METAIRIE, La. – Post Office Employees Credit Union considers itself lucky to have been spared severe damage from Katrina and now finds itself awash in new deposits and "a loyal member base which is paying its bills." That was the assessment of its president/CEO Sidney A. Parfait, who said the state's oldest CU -chartered in 1924 -is fortunate that four of its five offices are now open and that it picked up $6 million in new deposits the last three months. And despite the loss of 1,200 of its 5,200 members, the financial picture of the $30 million CU remains bright, said Parfait. Parfait attributed the unexpected deposit growth to the CU sticking to its mission of serving U.S. Postal Service employees while the postal agency "treated its employees well during the disaster." Unlike its peers in other states, the Metairie CU, said Parfait, has shied away from changing its name, adding SEG or seeking a community charter. Parfait, who is chairman of the National Council of Postal Credit Unions, said he understands the needs of postal CUs elsewhere to broaden their field of membership as they face stiff financial competition, but that has not been the growth path for Post Office.