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The $9.7 billion Patelco Credit Union recently celebrated the major growth milestone of acquiring its 500,000th member, the Dublin, Calif.-based institution announced Thursday.
"Honoring our founders' dream continues to remain at the heart of everything we do," Patelco President/CEO Erin Mendez said in a prepared statement. "This milestone is a testament to our commitment to fueling hope while building financial resiliency and well-being for our growing membership base."
Patelco was founded 87 years ago in 1936 by a few employees at Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company (now AT&T). In the announcement, Patelco noted several products and services that helped contribute to its membership growth, including its ScoreUp Credit Builder Loan, which helps people rebuild their credit or establish credit while building their savings; and its LevelUp discount, which rewards members for making consistent on-time loan payments with better interest rates if they don't qualify for the lowest rate available.
In February 2023, the credit union launched the Patelco Fraud Center, and earlier this year, it revealed that the online fraud-fighting hub for Patelco employees and members had helped the credit union avoid nearly $20 million in fraud losses over a five-month period.
The credit union serves members who live, work, attend school or worship within a 16-county region of Northern California, as well as in the California cities of Bakersfield, Eureka, McKinleyville and Santa Cruz. Membership is also open to members of the Financial Fitness Association; students and alumni of the University of California, Berkeley, San Francisco State University and California State University, East Bay; and those with a family member or roommate who is a member of Patelco. It operates 36 branches throughout California.
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
