Palmetto Citizens FCU President/CEO Robert Dozier, right, talks with S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster at a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for the credit union's new headquarters building to open by early 2027 in Columbia, S.C.
While Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union held a groundbreaking ceremony in downtown Columbia, S.C., Tuesday for a new headquarters, it expects much of its growth will occur outside the capital city.
The five-story, 100,000-square-foot building is expected to open within two years, housing 250 credit union employees, including its call center and mortgage department, which will move from nearby branches. The new headquarters is adjacent to the old one built in the 1950s — not far from where 10 teachers pooled $50 to launch the credit union in 1936.
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Meanwhile, the credit union has bought an 1890s bank building in Whitmire, a small town 50 miles northwest of Columbia, for a new branch.
Newberry County property records showed the credit union paid $80,000 March 25 for the 1,650-square-foot building and it will be spending more before it is ready to open late this year.
Like many small towns across South Carolina, Whitmire has struggled over the last 30 years as textile mills and other manufacturers shut down.
Its last bank branch shut down a year ago.
Robert Dozier, who took over as Palmetto Citizens’ president/CEO two years ago, talked with the mayor and offered to open a branch in the city.
“We have a lot of work to do, but we think we’re helping with the rebuilding of Whitmire,” he said.
When the Whitmire branch opens, the credit union will have 15 branches plus its headquarters.
Dozier said in December that his goal is to increase the size of the credit union to exceed $2 billion in assets by 2028 or 2029. On Tuesday, he said one way he hopes to increase the credit union’s size is by getting the NCUA’s approval to shift to a statewide charter within a few months.
The credit union last increased its field of membership in 2019, when it added Orangeburg, Calhoun, Saluda and Newberry counties in the center of the state, or the Midlands. It previously served Richland, Lexington, Kershaw and Fairfield counties in and around Columbia.
South Carolina is known as “The Palmetto State,” so Dozier told those at the groundbreaking it is only natural for the NCUA to grant the credit union a statewide charter, “because if you’re living in South Carolina, you’re already a Palmetto Citizen.”
Dozier wouldn’t say how much the headquarters would cost, but the credit union spent $3 million in 2016 buying the property on the corner of Sumter and Lady Streets, just a few blocks from the state capitol.
“It’s a good investment for our members and institution,” Dozier said.
One way he saved members money was buying a key material before tariffs went into effect. “The steel is on its way,” Dozier said.
Contact Jim DuPlessis at [email protected].
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Jim DuPlessis
Jim covers economic data trends emerging for credit unions, as well as branch news and dividends.
