CU Branches Sprouting Up in 2024

Credit unions have opened branches from Alaska to Rhode Island so far this year, including one in Albuquerque, N.M., home of Sandia Laboratory Federal Credit Union.

Sandia Laboratory ($3.8 billion in assets, 144,482 members) opened its new branch Feb. 3 in Albuquerque’s Old Town area — its seventh in Albuquerque and its 13th in total.

MG Architects, a Houston firm that specializes in branches, designed the single-story, 4,400-square-foot Rio Grande Crossing branch in a New Mexico territorial architectural style to blend in with nearby buildings.

Sandia Laboratory EVP Rick Anderson said that instead of tellers behind a counter, the branch features the first of the credit union’s new Experience Centers.

“These centers are a new and unique feature of this branch, and one we intend to carry forward as we continue to expand,” Anderson said. “We believe they will connect members with our financial experts in an engaging way.”

Other credit unions that have opened new branches so far this year included:

• Neighbors Federal Credit Union of Baton Rouge, La. ($1.2 billion in assets, 81,637 members), which will hold a grand opening Wednesday for its new branch within Central High School in Baton Rouge. NCUA data showed it had 10 branches and other locations in September 2023.
• Cornerstone Community Financial Credit Union of Auburn Hills, Mich. ($407.1 million in assets, 24,038 members), which held a grand opening Feb. 10 for its new branch in Clinton Township, 25 miles north of Detroit. The 5,200-square-foot branch is the credit union’s eighth overall, and sixth in southeast Michigan.
• Global Federal Credit Union of Anchorage, Alaska ($11.9 billion in assets, 754,160 members), which announced Feb. 1 it has opened a new, 300-square-foot kiosk-branch at the Eielson Exchange Shopping Center at Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, Alaska. NCUA data showed the credit union, formerly Alaska USA, had 77 branches and other locations in September 2023, up by nine from a year earlier and down by two from June 2023.
• Vantage West Credit Union of Tucson, Ariz. ($2.9 billion in assets, 183,655 members), which opened a new branch in Tucson Jan. 25. The credit union, which was chartered in 1955 to serve personnel at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, has expanded and as of September 2023 had 21 locations to serve members in Pima, Pinal, Maricopa and Cochise counties.
• Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union of Saint Paul, Minn. ($4.2 billion in assets, 263,965 members), which opened a new branch in January in a city called Virginia, 65 miles north of Duluth in Minnesota’s iron range. The branch serves more than 700 existing members in the area. Affinity Plus also plans to further expand its physical footprint with a new branch later this year in Shakopee, 35 miles west of its headquarters. The credit union had 29 locations in September 2023.
• Coastal1 Credit Union of Pawtucket, R.I. ($3.3 billion in assets, 139,016 members), which opened a new branch in January in Johnston, six miles west of Providence. The full-service branch features private offices, a 24-hour ATM, two drive-up lanes and a night depository. The credit union had 18 branches in September 2023.

NCUA data showed credit unions had 21,880 branches on Sept. 30, 2023, 45 more than they had in June. They lost 449 branches from December 2019 to December 2020 and since then have gained 314. Fourth-quarter data from the NCUA is expected in early March.