A new organization, the Police Officers' Credit Union Association, has been formed to provide networking and collaboration opportunities among police cooperatives to develop revenue-generating and cost-saving programs.

There are approximately 70 police credit unions in the U.S., according to the NCUA.

“The new normal of thin margins, increased regulatory compliance and fierce competition for business has brought about a greater need for an association,” said Ken Bator, president of Bator Training and Consulting Inc. in Orange, Calif.

BTC worked with a committee of police credit unions to establish what the consulting group claims is the first association for cooperatives that provide financial services to police officers and their families.

The committee included executives from the $377 million, 25,006-member Chicago Patrolmen's FCU; the $144 million, 11,047-member Police FCU in Upper Marlboro, Md.; the $119 million, 9,587-member Delaware State Police FCU in Georgetown, Del., the $61 million, 5,840-member State Highway Patrol FCU in Columbus, Ohio, and the $19 million, 1,858-member Greater Hartford Police FCU in Connecticut.

The committee is working to provide a number of benefits for member credit unions, including a national group health insurance program.

For more information about the new organization, visit the Police Officers' Credit Union Association website.