Global Credit Union of Anchorage said it plans to open a branch in June in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, formerly known as Barrow and the northernmost American city.
Global ($12.9 billion in assets, 794,921 members) announced Monday that the new branch will open inside the town's AC Stuaqpak grocery store. The branch is a partnership with Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC) – the Alaska Native Village Corporation for the region. UIC provides social and economic resources to over 4,000 Iñupiat shareholders and their descendants.
"We recognized early on the importance of expanding access to financial services in Utqiaġvik, and we're grateful to partner with UIC to make this a reality," Global President/CEO Geoff Lundfelt said. "This branch reflects our commitment to serving communities across Alaska and ensuring our members have the tools and support they need to succeed."
Dr. Pearl K. Brower, UIC President/CEO, said the branch was a long time in the making.
"Access to financial services is critical to the well-being of our people," Brower said. "This effort reflects our commitment to putting shareholders first by bringing companies like Global into our community to provide essential services."
Credit Union 1 of Anchorage ($1.5 billion in assets, 95,518 members) opened a branch in February 2025 in Kotzebue, Alaska, which it touted as the first credit union north of the Arctic Circle.
However, it's a summer retreat compared to Utqiaġvik, which is 340 miles northeast of Kotzebue and 720 miles north of Anchorage.
The 5,000 residents of Utqiaġvik started Wednesday with a 5:30 a.m. sunrise under clouds. The sun was expected to break through in the afternoon and raise temperatures to zero degrees Fahrenheit by 5 p.m. local time before dropping to -5 degrees by sunset at 11:30 p.m.
However, a warming trend was afoot, with temperatures expected to rise to the teens by this weekend.
NCUA data showed Global had 78 branches and other offices Dec. 31, six more than a year earlier.
In other branch news:
- Day Air Credit Union of the Dayton, Ohio area ($890.6 million in assets, 53,885 members) announced April 3 it had bought land to open two new branches in early 2027 in the city's suburbs. The Beavercreek branch will be seven miles east of its headquarters in Kettering, just south of Dayton, and the Troy branch is 25 miles north of Kettering. It had five locations Dec. 31, all in or near Dayton, unchanged from a year earlier.
- Philadelphia Federal Credit Union of Philadelphia ($1.9 billion in assets, 121,744 members) opened a new branch April 3 in Glenside, Pa., 12 miles west of its headquarters. It had 13 branches Dec. 31, unchanged from a year earlier.
- Teachers Federal Credit Union of Hauppauge, N.Y. ($9.9 billion in assets, 472,407 members) announced April 16 that it has opened a branch in Lake Mary, Fla., 20 miles north of Orlando. It was the credit union's third branch in Florida. It opened its first branch in Tampa in 2022 and its second last year in Naples, 170 miles south of Tampa. It said it plans additional expansion in Florida and a relocation and expansion of its Farmingville, N.Y., branch later in 2026. It had 33 branches Dec. 31, two more than a year earlier.
- Signal Financial Federal Credit Union of Kensington, Md. ($381.3 million in assets, 18,456 members) announced April 20 that it will move its headquarters and a branch from Kensington, Md., to two separate locations in the area at the end of this year.
NCUA data from Dec. 31 showed Signal Financial had four locations, with only a headquarters listed for Kensington at 3015 University Blvd. West. The credit union's news release said "the Kensington branch" will move four miles southeast to 1 Inventa Place in Silver Spring, Md. It said the headquarters will move five miles west to 6720 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, Md.
NCUA data also showed it had branches in Washington, D.C., Silver Springs, Md., and Ashburn, Va., as of Dec. 31, unchanged from a year earlier.
Contact Jim DuPlessis at Jim.DuPlessis@arc-network.com.
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