Reports out of Southern California credit unions point to asuccessful Bank Transfer Day.

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The $859 million First Entertainment Credit Union in Hollywoodreceived 99 new members on Nov. 5, despite having just five of its10 branches open that day due to logistical issues or restrictedaccess at its other five, said Roy MacKinnon, its vice president ofmarketing.

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In September, the CU averaged 17 new members on Saturdays, hesaid.

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The 59,000-member First Entertainment CU typically gets 500 to600 new members a month, MacKinnon said Monday, but jumped 1,042 inOctober and 350 so far in November.

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“At that rate, it is likely we will have another 1,000-plus newmember month,” MacKinnon said.

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“We hope this is just the beginning of a big consumer move tocredit unions and that the momentum will remain strong,” MacKinnonsaid.

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The $2.5 billion Wescom CU in Pasadena, meanwhile, reportednumerous new memberships in the days leading up to Nov. 5 andsaid its number of new members doubled Saturday compared witha typical Saturday showing.

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“The Bank Transfer Day momentum started early for us with newmemberships up all week,” said Susan McCready, senior vicepresident of branch administration.

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“Some of our branches were busier than others, but overall wesaw an increase in new accounts. We are looking forward toestablishing meaningful and long-term relationships with our newmembers,” McCready said.

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In San Diego, the $1.1 billion North Island Credit Union sawincreased activity throughout the week leading up to Bank TransferDay, CEO John Tippets said.

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Tippets spoke on camera to a local news station on Saturday,along with a new member who had just completed an ATMtransaction.

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“I've been making a point to say that the real money savingopportunity for consumers is to bring over their credit cards andcar loans,” Tippets said. “I think what matters most is the impactof the message and what happens over time.”

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According to CUNA, California-based credit unions have seen thebiggest surge in membership with around 90,000 new members and $624million in new deposits since Sept. 29.

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Natasha Chilingerian

Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.