Credit Unions in California & North Carolina Open Branches in Banking Deserts

Acclaim of Greensboro, N.C. ($58.9 million in assets, 5,131 members) announced July 24 that it plans to open a new branch next year in Stoneville, N.C., a rural town 35 miles north of Greensboro that has been a banking desert for three years.

The Carolinas Credit Union League said Stoneville’s 1,300 residents became a banking desert in 2022 when the last financial institution closed its doors. In the past decade, it said banks have closed nearly one in four branches, many of them in rural or underserved communities.

“Credit unions continue to fulfill their not-for-profit mission by serving parts of the state banks have left behind, even if doing so doesn’t maximize the credit union’s bottom line,” Dan Schline, president/CEO of the Carolinas Credit Union League, said. “Credit unions have the right model and the desire to offer brick-and-mortar financial services to North Carolinians in banking deserts.”

Acclaim will open in the building abandoned in 2022 by a bank. It will be Acclaim’s third office.

“We want to invest in the community and bring much needed services to the citizens of Stoneville,” Acclaim President/CEO Christie Smith said. “We are committed to supporting the community by hiring local talent, ensuring that our branch will be a true partner for Stoneville.”

In other branch news:

• Consumers Credit Union of Kalamazoo, Mich. ($2.5 billion in assets, 146,357 members) announced July 29 that it has begun building a new 1,185-square-foot office to open next year in Rockford, Mich., 65 miles north of Kalamazoo. In June it opened a branch Muskegon, Mich., about 90 miles northwest of Kalamazoo. “This groundbreaking marks another exciting step in our continued growth across West Michigan,” President/CEO Scott Sylvester said. “We’re proud to invest in the Rockford community and look forward to delivering the exceptional service and technology our members are looking for.” It had 31 branches on March 31, two more than a year earlier, and one more than in December.
• Educational Federal Credit Union of Miami ($1.7 billion in assets, 110,471 members) announced it will open its first collegiate branch Aug. 22 at the North Campus of Miami Dade College. It is also the credit union’s ninth office overall following its expansion into Broward County with the opening of their Miramar Park Place branch in 2024. “We are excited to welcome EdFed as the first financial institution to open a branch at the North Campus where it all started for Miami Dade College,” campus President Fermin Vazquez said. “This expansion brings essential financial services directly to our students, faculty and staff.” It had nine branches on March 31, one more than a year earlier.
• Lake Michigan Credit Union of Grand Rapids, Mich. ($14.8 billion in assets, 502,983 members) announced July 30 that it has opened a new branch in Brighton, Mich., about 110 miles east of Grand Rapids and 45 miles west of downtown Detroit. “We’ve been getting a lot of requests to expand our brick-and-mortar service in Southeast Michigan, so we’re excited to deliver on that desire for better banking options in Brighton,” President/CEO Julie Leonard said. “We’re looking forward to playing an active role in the community, bringing not only our signature products and services to the area, but plenty of jobs and engagement opportunities, too.” It had 77 branches on March 31, two more than a year earlier.
• OnPoint Community Credit Union of Portland, Ore. ($9.9 billion in assets, 608,583 members) opened a branch Aug. 8 in Hillsboro, Ore., about 30 miles west of Portland. The Reed’s Crossing branch is the credit union’s third branch in Hillsboro. It had 59 branches and other locations on March 31, one more than a year earlier.
• Sound Credit Union of Tacoma, Wash. ($3.2 billion in assets, 170,973 members) opened its new downtown Olympia branch last month that it acquired through its recent acquisition of Washington Business Bank. President/CEO Don Clark said the credit union has 3,500 members within a five-mile radius of the branch. It had 27 branches on March 31, unchanged from a year earlier.
• Veridian Credit Union of Waterloo, Iowa ($8.2 billion in assets, 354,418 members) announced July 24 that it plans to build a replacement branch to open in the fall of 2026 in Eden Prairie, Minn., 18 miles south of Minneapolis. The credit union said the new location is “intended to create greater accessibility for new and existing members with 2,890 square feet, a drive-up and 24-hour ATM.” The current office will be used for back-office operations. It had 32 branches on March 31, unchanged from a year earlier.
• Atlanta Postal Credit Union (APCU)/Center Parc Credit Union ($2.4 billion in assets, 109,702 members) held a grand opening July 22 for its new, 100,000-square-foot headquarters and branch in Atlanta. It had 13 branches on March 31, two fewer than a year earlier.
• Centris Federal Credit Union of Omaha ($1.4 billion in assets, 140,151 members) announced July 16 that it has begun building a new branch to open in late 2026 in Gretna, Neb., about 20 miles southwest of Omaha. It had 15 branches on March 31, unchanged from a year earlier.