Tech CU Enters Texas Market, Eyes More Expansion Outside California
The Austin branch is its first physical branch outside Silicon Valley, with another planned in Idaho by early 2025.
Technology Credit Union is stepping outside its Silicon Valley home — for real this time.
Technology Credit Union of San Jose, Calif. ($4.8 billion in assets, 169,002 members) announced in October 2022 it was extending beyond Silicon Valley by opening a virtual branch for Boise, Idaho.
Now, the credit union is making the move with bricks and mortar with a branch that opened in Austin, Texas in January and one that it hopes to open in Boise in this year’s fourth quarter or 2025’s first quarter.
Before the Austin branch opened, Tech CU had 10 branches and other locations in the Silicon Valley.
The new branch is in downtown Austin within 823 Congress Avenue, a 16-story office building two blocks from the state capitol. It is complemented by Tech CU’s Virtual Branch. The branch offers services from personal to commercial banking.
Austin is the county seat of Travis County. Tech CU’s field of membership includes at least 477 companies and other organizations, including two of Travis County’s largest employers: Apple Computer and Samsung.
President/CEO Todd Harris said many of the credit unions’ members are technology professionals and technology companies.
“Given Austin’s reputation as a technology hub and taking into consideration the thousands of members we have who already live in Texas, Austin was a natural choice for our expansion,” Harris said.
Robert Reed, Tech CU’s EVP and chief retail banking officer, said its TechCU@Work program, which provides discounted loan rates and other perks to member employees, currently serves 12 member companies and their more than 31,000 employees in the Austin area.
“Our new location will also help us build meaningful relationships with Austin’s technology community, many of whom we already serve,” Reed said.
Reed said Tech CU’s charter and bylaws commit the credit union to the “technology ecosystem.”
“So our geo-expansion strategy is primarily focused on technology hubs and emerging technology hubs,” Reed said. “After conducting market research, reviewing the competitive landscape, and taking into consideration the thousands of members we have who already live in Texas, Austin was a natural choice.”
Twenty credit unions had 83 branches and other locations in Travis County as of September 2023. The three credit unions with the biggest presence in Travis County were:
- University Federal Credit Union of Austin ($4 billion in assets, 375,224 members) with 15 of its 24 locations in Travis County.
- A+ Federal Credit Union of Austin ($2.6 billion in assets, 193,469 members) with 10 of its 22 locations in Travis County.
- Austin Telco Federal Credit Union of Austin ($2.5 billion in assets, 92,341 members) with 11 of its 24 locations in Travis County.