Credit Union of Texas Goes East
CUTX leaps outside its Dallas-area home to open its first branches in east Texas.
Credit Union of Texas has been establishing its first branches outside of its Dallas-area home, targeting east Texas for its future territorial growth.
CUTX ($1.7 billion in assets, 145,653 members as of Sept. 30) is the state’s 13th largest credit union by assets. It has chosen to make its east Texas landing in Gilmer, Texas, the county seat of Upshur County.
For a town with a population of just over 5,000, Gilmer was the birthplace three amazing music legends: Singer-songwriter Johnny Mathis (1935-), blues guitarist Freddie King (1934-1976) and Don Henley (1947-), drummer and singer for the Eagles.
But Upshur County is no cradle of banking. Deposits have grown at a far slower pace there than those in the rest of the state, and especially in CUTX’s existing Dallas-area market.
So, CU Times asked CUTX: Why Gilmer? Why now?
CUTX President/CEO Eric Pointer responded by email, saying it was part of a broader strategy to enter east Texas.
“We see an opportunity to bring industry-leading products and services to an underserved market,” Pointer said. “Our plans to expand go beyond Gilmer into the wider east Texas marketplace where banks have more than 85% market share.
“As a credit union, we’re able to offer attractive rates, give back to the community and provide more personalized service because we’re not obligated to pay dividends to shareholders.
“We’re not just there to build branches, we’re building a community,” he said. “We’re already investing in the school district, local food pantry, first responders, FFA program and much more.”
CUTX began announcing its arrival last fall with a billboard, participation in a local festival in October and throwing a street party downtown in November.
It opened a temporary branch Dec. 27 less than a mile north of the town center. CUTX began construction this month of a permanent branch there.
CUTX has also chosen Gilmer to offer its first full suite of commercial banking services through a branch it calls its “Commercial Solutions Center.” It will be located in a historic building being renovated in the Gilmer town square. It will also offer personal banking services when it opens by the end of March. In the meantime, members can use a CUTX interactive teller machine (ITM) installed at the storefront.
The credit union plans to ramp up to a total of eight employees in the regular branch and another five in the Commercial Solutions Center.
Gilmer is 120 miles east of CUTX’s Allen headquarters, and the geographic shift is stark.
CUTX’s current market is among the largest and fastest-growing in Texas.
NCUA data showed CUTX’s 447 full and part-time employees operated 17 locations as of Sept. 30 in its four-county area: Dallas, Denton, Collin and Rockwall. In January it opened a high school branch in Denton County.
In CUTX’s four-county Dallas area, FDIC data showed bank deposits more than tripled from 2016 to 2021, while branches have declined. On June 30, 2021, banks had $712.4 billion in deposits at 1,013 branches. In 2016, they had $200.7 billion in deposits at 1,075 branches.
The area’s deposits grew more than twice as fast as the statewide total, allowing the area’s share of the state’s deposits to grow from 26% in 2016 to 45% in 2021.
Upshur County’s deposit trends went the other way.
Deposits grew only 35% over five years to $625.4 million in 2021, accounting for 0.04% of the state’s deposits. Its share was down from 0.06% in 2016.
Upshur County did beat the statewide trend of declining branches. The county had 12 bank branches in 2021 — one more than it had five years earlier. Statewide they declined 6%.
The only other credit union branch in the county is North East Texas Credit Union’s branch in Diana, 12 miles east of Gilmer. It is one of seven locations of North East Texas ($208.7 million, 14391 members), based in Lone Star.