WeStreet Buys Two Bank Branches Near Tulsa, Okla.

WeStreet Federal Credit Union of Tulsa, Okla., on Monday opened two former bank branches as credit union branches.

WeStreet expanded into Pryor, Okla., 44 miles east of Tulsa, through the Aug. 19 purchase of the branches from the Wichita, Kan.-based Oklahoma Fidelity Bank, which had $3.1 billion in assets as of March 31.

The bank branch purchases were the first by WeStreet ($954.5 million in assets, 56,478 members as of June 30), which changed its name in early 2022 from Tulsa Federal Credit Union. NCUA data showed the credit union had 13 branches and other locations on March 31, unchanged over the previous 12 months. Its assets grew 2.6% and its membership grew 1.6% in the 12 months ending March 31.

“The opening of these two branches is a milestone for WeStreet as we expand our services into a new region, and we are honored to share this moment with the Pryor community,”WeStreet President/CEO Greg Gallant said.

“We are thrilled to welcome new Pryor customers into the WeStreet Credit Union family and offer more localized service to existing members in the area,” Gallant said. “Our credit union deeply values community-focused service and financial empowerment, and our team looks forward to getting to know and providing high-quality support to our new neighbors.”

Four other credit union branch openings in the past month were:

1. ANECA Federal Credit Union of Shreveport, La. ($227.2 million in assets, 9,000 members) announced Aug. 3 it had opened a second branch in Shreveport. The new branch is its fourth. Two months ago it opened its second branch in Bossier City, just east of Shreveport across the Red River.

2. Genisys Credit Union of Auburn Hills, Mich. ($4.6 billion in assets, 265,738 members) opened a new branch Aug. 15 in Shelby Township, 13 miles east of Auburn Hills and 30 miles north of downtown Detroit.

3. Kinecta Federal Credit Union of Los Angeles ($6.7 billion in assets, 265,827 members) announced July 11 it had opened a new branch June 26 in Thousand Oaks, 40 miles up the coast from downtown Los Angeles.

4. VyStar Credit Union of Jacksonville, Fla. ($13.7 billion in assets, 901,612 members) announced Aug. 16 it had opened a new branch in Winter Park, seven miles north of downtown Orlando. The new branch is Vystar’s third in Orange County, joining one in downtown Orlando and one in Winter Garden, 15 miles west of Orlando.

NCUA data showed credit unions shed 449 branches and other locations from December 2019 to December 2020 during the height of pandemic restrictions. Credit unions had added back only 216 locations from that December 2020 low to March 31 this year, including 34 added in the first quarter.