The nation's 300 postal credit unions have long prepared for theU.S. Postal Service to close post offices and processing centersbut the reality of staying viable after that happens is about todeliver the real challenge.

That was the assessment this week from leaders of the NationalCouncil of Postal Credit Unions, who advise their colleagues topursue new SEGs and seek offsite branches. Some shutdowns areexpected to begin as soon as May.

“We've seen the big drop in U.S. Postal volume for a couple ofyears now and retirement of employees and how it has made it sohard for small credit unions to grow,” said John King, chairman ofthe NCPCU and president/CEO of the $44 million Eagle One FCU of Philadelphia.

Industry sources said there may be as many as 30 small creditunions housed in Postal Service offices that would face ouster oncetheir facilities are closed.

“One thing we did was to set up a branch in Delaware so we wouldbe protected against closings,” said King, recalling Eagle One'sopening of a Claymont office following the 2001 anthraxscare.

That calamity forced the shutdown of a post office credit unionin a federal building for months “and we don't want that again,”said King.

Will Yarborough, past chairman of the NCPCU and president/CEO ofthe $200 million U.S. Postal Service FCU of Clinton, Md., saidapart from the closure prospect a major problem for small creditunions, including postals, remains finding loans when the consumertrend is “to shed debt not add to it.”

That adds to the challenge, Yarborough said, adding that smalland mid-size CUs are now operating in a fierce competitiveenvironment marked by “overbanked” areas like those in Maryland andmetro D.C.

Both Yarborough and King said small postal CUs will need tothink creatively “and with new energy” about how they can addnew SEGs to replace the loss of USPS business.