SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union said it is expanding its statewide network of branches by two, following the opening of two new branches earlier this year near its home in southern California.

The credit union ($36.7 billion in assets, 1.6 million members) is based in Santa Ana, Calif., 36 miles southeast of Los Angeles in Orange County.
SchoolsFirst opened branches in the first quarter of 2026 in Ventura, 80 miles west of Los Angeles, and Northridge, an Los Angeles neighborhood 26 miles northwest of downtown.

It said it plans to open branches later this year in Monrovia, 16 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, and Chula Vista, eight miles south of San Diego.

"Our focus is simple: serve school employees and their families well," President Jose Lara said. "Our branches give members a place to get guidance from people who understand the financial realities school employees face, right in their own communities."

Jose Lara

SchoolsFirst reported to the NCUA that it had 79 branches and other offices on March 31, four more than a year earlier.
In other branch news:

  • Meridian Trust Federal Credit Union of Cheyenne, Wyo. ($727.8 million in assets, 43,655 members) said it is planning a June 23 groundbreaking for a new branch in Cheyenne at the corner of Pershing Boulevard and Ridge Road, about a mile west of the current East (Lincolnway) branch. The new branch is expected to open in 2027. It had nine branches on March 31, unchanged from a year earlier.
  • Centris Federal Credit Union of Omaha, Neb. ($1.5 billion in assets, 131,382 members) has begun construction of a new branch that it said it expects to open later this year in Bellevue, Neb., seven miles south of downtown Omaha. It had 14 branches on March 31, one less than a year earlier.
  • Nassau Financial Federal Credit Union of East Meadow, N.Y. ($336.4 million in assets, 14,275 members) has opened a 2,500-square-foot branch at 3546 Long Beach Road in Oceanside, replacing another branch nearby. It had six branches on March 31, one more than a year earlier.
  • Sun Federal Credit Union of Maumee, Ohio ($671 million in assets, 35,652 members) said it plans to open a branch in downtown Toledo, Ohio this summer on the Mercy Health-St. Vincent Medical Center campus. The new location will use an existing building offered to Sun Federal through a community benefit lease. It had 12 branches on March 31, unchanged from a year earlier.
  • United Federal Credit Union of St Joseph, Mich. ($4.4 billion in assets, 190,895 members) has expanded a location in Reno, Nev., from a loan office to a full-service branch. The Summit Branch is at 13989 S. Virginia St. It had 44 branches in seven states on March 31, one less than a year earlier.
  • Veridian Credit Union of Waterloo, Iowa ($8.9 billion in assets, 374,001 members) said it is planning a grand opening July 6–10 for a branch that marks its return to north Waterloo, Fla., after its branch inside a Hy-Vee grocery store closed in June 2024. Veridian announced plans for the new branch in October 2024, and construction began the following summer. Veridian said the new branch offers all the same services as the previous location with the addition of more space and drive-up access. It had 31 branches on March 31, one less than a year earlier.
  • Financial Center First Credit Union of Indianapolis ($952.6 million in assets, 56,289 members) has returned to the Major General Emmett J. Bean Federal Center with a new branch, replacing one that it closed in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

About 2,500 people work in the center, with the U.S. Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) being its primary tenant. The credit union invested $260,000 to build the new branch in a new location in the building.

"Opening this new branch is an exciting full-circle moment for Financial Center," President/CEO Ning Duong said. "We were founded more than 70 years ago at Fort Benjamin Harrison, and this new location allows us to reconnect with those roots while delivering a modern banking experience built for today's members."

It had 10 branches on March 31, one more than a year earlier.

Contact Jim DuPlessis at Jim.DuPlessis@arc-network.com.

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