Stephen A. Smith, president/CEO of the $90 million Fulton Teachers Credit Union, was surprised to learn his cooperative ranked ahead of several mid-size and billion dollar credit unions when it came to the most products issued to members.

The Hapeville, Ga.-based financial institution earned the top spot in that category, according to data analyzed by Callahan & Associates for CU Times.

Fulton Teachers boasted an impressive 6.58 products per member compared to the top 20 credit unions that averaged 4.1 as of June 30, 2014. The credit union serves 11,000 members.

Another aspect that made Fulton Teachers unusual was its mix of loan accounts compared to share accounts. While the top 20 credit unions in terms of product penetration averaged about 20% loans and 80% share accounts, Fulton Teachers had a much stronger lead on the loan side at 75% and 25% for share accounts.

Compared to other credit unions in the top 20, Fulton Teachers is also surprisingly small given its success. As a group, the others in the category averaged about 35,000 members per credit union and $500 million in assets.

With just two branches and no participation in any shared branch network, Fulton Teachers was able to compete quite ably with other local institutions in the area under Smith's guidance.

“We do a lot of new auto loans now, as well as a lot of swap-and-drops,” Smith said.

The exchange refers to a refinance program where Fulton Teachers swaps its loan for another financial institution's auto loan and drops the member's interest rate. The credit union also offers a cash incentive to members for taking advantage of such an offer.

Smith started as a teller at Fulton Teachers more than 20 years ago, and became its CEO around 2006. When he took the helm, he said the product mix at the credit union was not nearly as robust as it is today.

His intention was to make Fulton Teachers as competitive as any of the larger credit unions in the area when it came to product offerings, Smith explained. For example, the cooperative's success in lending is due to its multiple loan programs.

“We're not a community charter, so we can't really do indirect auto lending, but we do have about $5 million out in auto loans through CULS,” he said.

CULS refers to The Credit Union Lending Source LLC, a CUSO that provides participation loan opportunities to Georgia's credit unions. The CUSO was founded and is owned by Delta Community Credit Union, Atlanta Postal Credit Union, Georgia's Own Credit Union and The Georgia Credit Union Services Inc., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Georgia Credit Union Affiliates.

According to Smith, Fulton Teachers has also seen success with its credit card program.

“We have a balance transfer program where we offer 5,000 extra reward points for bringing another card's balance over,” he said. “Our members seem to enjoy that.”

Fulton Teacher's lending department puts a considerable amount of effort into helping members refinance other types of loans they may have with competing financial institutions, according to Smith. This clearly creates a win-win since the credit union grows it loan portfolio and members take advantage of a lower rate.

Smith has also increased Fulton Teachers' number of share accounts by putting an employee incentive program in place.

“We offer employees $15 for every new checking account they open,” he explained “That seems to provide some good motivation.”

Employees have seized on opportunities to build long-term relationships. For example, one employee asked for a list of members who only had an auto loan with Fulton Teachers so that she could cross-sell them on a checking account.

While Smith readily agrees that having a competitive product mix is essential, he claims that Fulton Teachers' real success is due to its culture.

“We really feel like we're a family here and we truly believe that our members are an extension of that family,” he said.

It's not unusual for a member to drop by a branch to show off their vacation pictures, for instance. Smith said just recently, members invited him to their wedding, an event he was, unfortunately, unable to attend. The credit union also hosts a barbecue three times each year for employees of the school district.

“We've really built a great team here at Fulton Teachers Credit Union,” Smith said. “If you can instill a great attitude in 95% of your employees, you're going to be successful. We've definitely done that here.”

Instant Insights /

Fulton Teachers CU Leads in Service Penetration

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