University of Iowa Community Credit Union Selects New Name
To find a new name, the credit union says it reached out to its members for ideas.
The $5.3 billion University of Iowa Community Credit Union last week selected a new name: GreenState Credit Union.
Iowa’s largest credit union was required to change its name following a controversy that led Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds to sign the state’s budget bill into law last year, which included an amendment that prohibited credit unions from using the name of any public university in Iowa.
Larry McKibben, a board member of the Iowa Board of Regents that governs the state university system, raised a concern in March 2018 that a scandal at UICCU could “wreak havoc” on the University of Iowa’s reputation. Of course, the reputation of the credit union also could be impacted should a scandal tarnish the university brand, as UICCU President/CEO Jeff Disterhoft, pointed out in a CU Times article.
It turns out that McKibben, a partner with a law firm in Marshalltown, Iowa, is also a part-owner of Farmers Savings Bank, based in the same city. McKibben did not disclose this bank relationship on his conflict of interest form to serve on the Board of Regents. The attorney told a local newspaper he didn’t disclose his bank shares because he felt it’s unrelated to his work on the board.
Nevertheless, the credit union’s name has been a point of contention from among some of UICCU’s competitors for at least 30 years.
To find a new name, UICCU said it reached out to members and received thousands of ideas. A committee of staff, board volunteers, and members narrowed the new name candidates to a few that were reviewed by trademark attorneys.
“These selections were then tested in interviews with randomly selected Iowans,” UICCU said in a prepared statement. “Ultimately, the UICCU board of directors unanimously selected one name and last fall we submitted our application for trademark. Early reports are promising, but we will not receive final word from the (United States Patent and Trademark Office) until the end of March.”
GreenState was inspired by a member who flew back to Iowa after a long time away.
“From the rolling valleys of farm ground to the trees that speckle our landscape, Iowa appeared to (this member) as a warm welcoming ‘quilt’ of green,” UICCU said. “So in order to pay tribute to our birthplace, we chose GreenState, and have since developed a logo representing the diverse and vibrant colors of Iowa.”
The credit union did not identify the member.
UICCU also said it wanted a name that is simple, welcoming, not geographically constraining, and reflective of its Midwestern heritage.
The credit union estimated the cost of the name change (signage, documents, collateral material, cards, trademarks, communications) to be roughly $2.5 million, or less than one percent of its projected annual revenue.
The credit union’s new web address will be www.greenstatecu.org.
UICCU operates 18 branches and employs 455 staff members who serve more than 186,000 members.