Missoula FCU to Become Clearwater Credit Union
The credit union says it surveyed over 4,500 people and came up with over 500 name ideas during the process.
Missoula, Mont.-based Missoula Federal Credit Union will become Clearwater Credit Union this fall, the credit union has announced.
Missoula Federal, which as $542 million in assets and about 51,000 members, said it is changing its name in order to appeal to people outside Missoula. The new name will take effect on September 3.
“As we’ve grown to reach more communities outside Missoula, we’ve had to ask ourselves whether the name Missoula Federal Credit Union, a name that has served us well for 63 years, will continue to serve us in these different communities,” Missoula Federal President and CEO Jack Lawson said in a statement. “We took our time with this question, spending a year and a half considering this change and involving our members, our coworkers, our community and the people in our new field of membership.”
The credit union said it surveyed over 4,500 people and came up with over 500 name ideas during the process, which followed its expansion into surrounding counties.
“Removing ‘Federal’ from our name makes it shorter and more pleasing to say, and reduces the tendency to shorten our name to an acronym. (That is, we hope to be known as Clearwater, not CCU),” the credit union said. “It also gives us the flexibility to become a state-chartered credit union in the future were we to agree together to make that shift.”
According to the naming research findings report the credit union posted on its website, older members who had been with the credit union no longer cared more about its name than younger members did. In addition, a third of the respondents said the name “Missoula Federal Credit Union” was “extremely important” or “very important” in their decision to be a member. Twenty-seven percent said the name was moderately important, and 40% said the name was slightly important or not at all important.
Almost half of the respondents in the new field of membership said that knowing the credit union was based in Missoula made no difference in their likelihood to consider the credit union for a future banking need.
In addition, the survey found that people age 18-34 were more likely than people age 35-54 or 55 and older to find values-based banking very appealing.
“There is disagreement as to what values-based banking means, for members and potential members,” the report noted. “Values-based banking is broadly seen as synonymous with the normal credit union model.”
Several credit unions have pursued name changes following field of membership expansions in recent months.
In May, Brigham City, Utah-based Box Elder County Federal Credit Union announced it would become Elevate Credit Union. That credit union, which has $140 million in assets and about 12,000 members, said it was changing its name in order to better reflect its current membership base.
Last October, St. Helens, Ore.-based St. Helens Community Credit Union announced it would rebrand to InRoads Credit Union, and Duncan, Oklahoma-based Halliburton Employees’ Federal Credit Union announced a name change to Endurance Federal Credit Union. Both credit unions said part of the reason for their name changes was to address confusion about who could join. InRoads has $230 million in assets and about 15,800 members. Endurance has $152 million in assets; it also has about 16,000 members.