Lighthouse CU Moves From State to Federal Charter
Formerly Northeast CU, the New Hampshire credit union says the change was approved by a member vote June 20.
Summer 2024 has been a big season for Lighthouse Credit Union – not only did the $1.9 billion, Portsmouth, N.H.-based credit union rebrand itself, moving away from its former identity as Northeast Credit Union – it also converted from a state charter to a federal charter.
According to an announcement from Lighthouse earlier this month, the charter change was put forth by its Board of Directors and decided upon by a member vote on June 20, 2024. It said the NCUA has granted final approval and that Lighthouse commenced operations under a federal charter on Aug. 26.
Lighthouse said the charter transition will “enrich and nourish the lives of others in new communities and create more impact” among existing members.
“This year has been extraordinary as we transition from Northeast Credit Union to Lighthouse Credit Union and broaden our field of membership with a federal charter,” Lighthouse President/CEO Chris Parker stated. “These changes will allow us to continue to drive our mission and positively impact new members and communities beyond our current footprint in New Hampshire and Southern Maine. We are committed to supporting our members as we enhance our product and service offerings, branch experience and digital platforms in the months ahead. Our focus is on continual improvement to give back more to our members and make a greater impact in even more communities.”
The credit union said members will experience minimal impact through the brand and charter change, noting that member accounts will not be affected and funds remain federally insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), operated and managed by the NCUA.
Lighthouse operates 17 locations and currently has 166,096 members, according to the NCUA.