Michigan State University Federal Credit Union

Michigan State University Federal Credit Union

Type	Credit union
Industry	Financial services
Founded	1937
Headquarters	East Lansing, Michigan, USA
Key people	Patrick M. McPharlin, President and Chief Executive Officer[1]
Products	Savings; checking; consumer loans; mortgages; credit cards; investments; online banking
Total assets	$1.93 billion USD[2]
Employees	371[3]
Website	msufcu.org

Michigan State University Federal Credit Union or MSUFCU, headquartered in East Lansing, Michigan, is the largest university-based credit union in the world in membership and asset size.^[4] MSUFCU is a federal credit union chartered and regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). A variety of financial products and services are provided by MSUFCU including deposit accounts, personal and business loans, investments and insurance. MSUFCU is owned and operated by members of the Michigan State and Oakland University communities. As of November 2011, MSUFCU has nine branches, a membership of more than 157,000 and over $2 billion in assets.^[5]

MSUFCU has been awarded the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Top 25 Medium Sized Companies to Work For in 2006 and 2007 and currently staffs over 350 employees.^[6] The credit union was also awarded the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Award in 2008^[7], was chosen in 2008 as one of Michigan's Next Great Companies by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation^[8], and was named one of the Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security by the Principal Financial Group in 2003.^[9]

History

On November 15, 1937, a petition for state charter was approved for the Michigan State College Employees Credit Union (MSCECU). MSCECU was located in the Administration Building at the Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science (later, Michigan State University) and was operated out of a single desk drawer. At that time, the credit union had $3,000 in assets and 74 members.

In 1955, the State of Michigan renamed Michigan State College as Michigan State University, and MSCECU adjusted its name accordingly to Michigan State Employees Credit Union. The credit union moved to the Power House Plant on MSU’s campus the following year and continued to move around campus as its membership and assets increased.

An additional credit union branch was opened in Oakland County, Michigan in 1967 to better serve members at the nearby MSU-Oakland University. Four years later, in 1971, the credit union relocated its main office to 600 East Crescent Road in East Lansing, Michigan.

In 1978, the NCUA approved the credit union’s application for federal charter (Charter number 23279), and its name was changed to MSU Federal Credit Union. By that time, MSUFCU had grown to $40 million in assets and 29,244 members.^[10]

A branch in Okemos, Michigan was added in 1983 and was later relocated to its current location in 2003. Additional branches were also constructed in East Lansing in 1987 and on the west side of Lansing, MI in 2003. Branches in south Lansing and in the MSU Union Building on MSU’s campus were built shortly thereafter.

MSUFCU continues to expand, finishing construction on a new headquarters building in north East Lansing in 2008. The building was constructed using green building standards and received a gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The credit union opened an additional branch in downtown Lansing in April 2011.^[11]

Membership

As is dictated by MSUFCU’s charter, membership at the credit union is limited to the following groups of individuals:

Faculty, staff and students of Michigan State University or Oakland University and their immediate relatives.

Michigan State University or Oakland University Alumni Association members. Anyone is able to join either Alumni Association and then become eligible for MSUFCU membership.

Those who regularly work on the Michigan State University or Oakland University campuses who are under the control of the MSU Board of Trustees or the governing body of Oakland University.

Employees of select groups or associations as determined by MSUFCU’s Board of Directors.

Immediate family members of the aforementioned eligible fields (spouse, sister, brother, parent or child).

Any individual living in the household of the above eligible fields making up an economic unit.

All members are required to pay a $1, one-time membership fee and maintain a $5 balance in a Spartan Saver deposit account. This fee and deposit represent each member’s ownership of MSUFCU.

Services

MSUFCU offers products and services including various savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), personal loans, mortgages, Visa lines-of-credit, and business accounts and loans.

MSUFCU teamed up with Members Home & Auto Insurance in 2007 to provide home, auto and renter’s insurance to members.

MSUFCU members can perform transactions free-of-charge in person at MSUFCU’s eight branch locations, 100 MSUFCU-owned ATMs in the Greater Lansing area or at over 28,000 CO-OP Network ATMs nationwide. Live telephone assistance is available Monday – Saturday, and 24 hour account access is available on MSUFCU’s website (https://www.msufcu.org/) using ComputerLine, via the free, automated MoneyLine telephone service, and through mobile banking.

References

1. ^ "MSUFCU Management". https://www.msufcu.org/p_msufcumanagement.html. Retrieved December 31, 2009. 
2. ^ "About MSUFCU". https://www.msufcu.org/p_msufcuinfo.html?mnuccid=65&rd=1. Retrieved November 2, 2010. 
3. ^ "About MSUFCU". https://www.msufcu.org/p_msufcuinfo.html?mnuccid=65&rd=1. Retrieved November 2, 2010. 
4. ^ "NCUA Statistics". http://www.ncua.gov/Resources/Reports/statistics/statistics.aspx. Retrieved November 2, 2010. 
5. ^ "MSU Federal Credit Union official website". https://www.msufcu.org/. Retrieved November 2, 2010. 
6. ^ "Employment at MSUFCU". https://www.msufcu.org/c_employment.html?mnuccid=65. Retrieved December 3, 2008. 
7. ^ "Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce". http://www.lansingchamber.org/event_description/economic_development_celebration.html. Retrieved September 17, 2008. 
8. ^ "Michigan Economic Development Corporation: Michigan's Next Great Companies". http://michiganadvantage.org/Great-Companies/Links/Default.aspx. Retrieved December 23, 2008. 
9. ^ "HR Ingenuity website". http://www.hringenuity.com/tenbest2003.cfm. Retrieved September 17, 2008. 
10. ^ Lesnieski, Frances L. (1987). Our First Fifty Years: Michigan State University Federal Credit Union. 
11. ^ [http://www.creditunions.com/resources/presscenter/pressreleases/3800/9038.pdf "Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) Announces the Opening of the Downtown Lansing Branch"]. http://www.creditunions.com/resources/presscenter/pressreleases/3800/9038.pdf. Retrieved May 8, 2011. 

External links

• Official website
• Branch Locations
• National Credit Union Administration's CU Online tool -- provides lots of financial and organizational details