Evansville Teachers FCU to Become Liberty FCU

Evansville Teachers Federal Credit Union, Indiana’s third largest credit union, plans to change its name to Liberty Federal Credit Union in September.

The credit union had assets of $2.97 billion and 64,882 members at the end of the first quarter. It surpassed $3 billion in assets on April 30, and now serves more than 265,000 members with 28 branches in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, according to its May 18 news release.

The credit union said it continues to add branches throughout the three states, including a new office in Jasper, Ind., scheduled to open in the summer of 2023.

“We are changing our name to better represent our entire membership,” Bill Schirmer, the credit union’s president/CEO, said. “However, you can rest assured that we remain the same nationally recognized credit union focused on providing superior value for all your financial needs.”

Schirmer said the credit union has been successful because of “its commitment to returning superior value to its members … exemplified in the credit union’s free checking products.”

Since 2015, it has offered a free, high-interest Vertical Checking account with an average percentage yield now at 3.30% on balances up to $20,000.

The credit union was able to add western Kentucky educational groups in 1992 when it acquired the Owensboro Public Schools Federal Credit Union through a merger. In 2018, the credit union bought American Founders Bank based in Louisville, Ky., which had the $113.4 million in assets.

Last year, its assets grew 20.6%, while its members grew 9.1%. Its return on average assets for 2021 was 2.23%, up from 2.14% in 2020.

As of March, it was Indiana’s third-largest credit union behind Teachers Credit Union of South Bend ($4.5 billion in assets, 338,145 members) and Indiana Members Credit Union of Indianapolis ($3 billion in assets, 150,469 members).

The credit union has expanded from a workforce of 160 employees in 2012 to 738 employees now. More than two-thirds of these jobs are in Evansville.

Evansville, the state’s third-largest city with a population of 118,414 in 2020, already had two other credit unions with “Evansville” in the name: Evansville Federal Credit Union ($93.9 million in assets, 6,460 members) and Evansville Firefighters Federal Credit Union ($28.7 million in assets, 2,299 members).

Evansville Teachers will become the biggest credit union with a “Liberty” name, but it won’t be the “first.”

That would be 1st Liberty Federal Credit Union of Great Falls, Mont. ($223.3 million in assets, 16,571 members).

The others are:

• Calhoun-Liberty Employees Credit Union of Blountstown, Fla. ($92.8 million in assets, 5,748 members).
• Liberty Bay Credit Union of Braintree, Mass. ($711.4 million in assets, 25,044 members).
• Liberty County Teachers of Liberty, Texas ($22.2 million in assets, 2,835 members).
• Liberty First Credit Union of Lincoln, Neb. ($410 million in assets, 29,910 members).
• Liberty Savings Federal Credit Union of Jersey City, N.J. ($132.3 million in assets, 19,917 members).
• LibertyOne Credit Union of Arlington, Texas ($168.6 million, 8,890 members).
• Midwest Liberty Federal Credit Union of McCook, Neb. ($19.9 million in assets, 2,450 members).