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Just to the southeast of Memphis, Tenn., there is a small credit union looking to do big things for a large swath of underserved people in the south.
The $236 million Southern Security Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Collierville, Tenn., has secured a much larger field of membership (FOM) that includes 18 counties across Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. The new FOM adds 296 census tracts, with an estimated potential membership of 1,104,749, according to the credit union.
In a statement released Wednesday from Southern Security, the goal is to expand its current membership of 20,316 into areas "to provide a wide array of affordable financial products and services and financial education resources to residents, organizations and businesses."
Southern Security President/CEO Dawn Graeter said, "We pride ourselves on partnering with our members to increase their financial knowledge while positively impacting their personal and business finances. We believe we can be a great resource to the underserved residents and businesses in this expanded territory of the Mid-South. Southern Security has a long history of exceptional service, and we look forward to extending this record of trust and member relationships to new members in these communities."
Southern Security worked with the consulting firm Dollar Associates, LLC to secure the new FOM.
According to Southern Security, the FOM expansion into some of the 18 counties does not include the entire county except for the underserved population areas.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
