Almost one in five in people living in North Carolina belonged the $30 billion State Employees' Credit Union in 2014, according to academic study commissioned by the credit union.

“This membership represented over 19% of the total population in the State of North Carolina in 2014,” wrote report author, William Jackson III.

“Or, stated differently, almost one out of every five Tar Heels was a member of SECU, and enjoyed the full range of benefits that accompanied SECU membership during 2014.”

Jackson held professorships in finance and management, as well as the Smith Foundation Endowed Chair of Business Integrity in the Culverhouse College of Commerce at the University of Alabama in 2014.

This year's report updates a similar one he did in 2012, SECU said.

SECU Senior Vice President Sandra Jones explained that SECU's field of membership includes not only state employees and their familes, but also the employees of North Carolina schools and their familes as well as members of the state's National Guard and their families.

Jackson researched and documented SECU's member savings in a number of categories, according to SECU.

Lower rates on loans, higher rates on deposits, lower fees and benefits from SECU's Salary Advance Loan program were among the categories included in the study.

One of the largest financial benefits of SECU membership came from lower fees on products and services, the report said, calculating the credit union saved members more than $380 million in 2014.

That's a more than 36% increase since 2012, the credit union said.

The report also looked at SECU's Mortgage Assistance Program, a proactive effort to help members with mortgage commitments in the event of job loss and other economic problems, along with SECU's voluntary tax assistance program and the credit union's fee-free Cash Points ATM network.

The report also measured the competitive impact of having SECU in the North Carolina consumer lending market.

“Two economic studies by Feinberg (1998 and 2001) suggest that there is a competitive relationship between commercial banks and credit unions in local consumer lending markets” Jackson wrote. “In general, this reduction in bank loan rates was estimated to be about 10 basis points across all consumer loans. This is a significant financial benefit for bank customers generated by the presence of credit unions. The competitive pressures exerted by SECU likely resulted in millions of dollars of financial benefits to the customers of commercial banks in the State of North Carolina during 2014 (Jackson 2005).”

“The financial benefits provided by State Employees' Credit Union to its members are incredible, representing about $806 per member household,” Jackson said when releasing the report. “This level of value creation establishes SECU as one of the top performing credit unions in the United States for creating member value in 2014.”

“We continually work to provide members outstanding value and service – it is what they deserve from their Credit Union,” SECU Board of Directors' Chairman Jim Johnson added. “At a time when many financial institutions are increasing rates and fees to gain profits, SECU's strategy is to remain consistent and steady on low or no-fee products and services to help provide members financial stability.”