Content provided by 1st Nor Cal Credit Union
It started with a shoebox and an orange crate, and now, 75 years later, 1st Nor Cal Credit Union has seven branches and 85 employees serving 32,000 members. Happy 75th birthday, 1st Nor Cal!! You haven’t aged a bit, but you sure have grown!
In 1949, the Contra Costa County sheriff dropped a shoebox with $1,211 on the desk of his secretary, Elinor Aljets, and asked her to start a credit union. Collected from 34 members depositing an average of $35 each, the amount became the foundation for the Contra Costa County Employees Federal Credit Union. Now known as 1st Nor Cal, the credit union turns 75 in 2024 and is stronger than ever.
According to David Green, 1st Nor Cal Credit Union President/CEO, 1st Not Cal has always been been unique and even now distinguishes itself in ways that truly benefit their membership. “Credit union membership really makes a lot of sense, especially compared to banks and even more so when compared to the Mega-banks. And a lot of your friends and neighbors already realize this – nearly 14 million people belong to California credit unions, nationally the number is over 136 million. This is amazing news because these people pay lower fees, earn higher dividends on deposits and enjoy lower loan rates. 1st Nor Cal is very proud to be part of this.”
David says there’s more to the story however, “You see, not all credit union’s are created equal. For instance, similar-sized California credit unions post fee income at approximately 0.65% of assets. Nationally, it’s even higher, around 0.78% of assets. By comparison, 1st Nor Cal’s fee income is approximately 0.07% – which means our fees are literally one-tenth of what our competitors are. That alone is a huge distinction for 1st Nor Cal Credit Union.”
1st Nor Cal is different in other ways too. David explained that 1st Nor Cal has never had a grow-at-all-cost mentality. “We have enjoyed wonderful growth over the past 75 years, and the result is a modern, robust, product and service offering. But we have maintained our autonomy, truth-be-told we think we really understand the communities we service and our members, and we think we know how to best serve them. So we’re not about growing just to grow, we’re all about safety, security and most importantly impeccable personalized service at every level.”
It is a philosophy that has served 1st Nor Cal well. Even with their more conservative approach, they have still managed to grow to nearly $1 billion in assets with a modest $340 million in loans to members. “That’s a lot of good people benefiting from the good work we do here. Our members are, by and large, hardworking people trying to raise their families in the country’s highest cost area. If we can be a small part of their success, then we’ve accomplished our objective,” David says.
1st Nor Cal has another distinction which really stands out because it ensures continuity for their members – it’s a pretty astonishing statistic. At 1st Nor Cal, about 30% of the employees have been with the organization for over 20 years and the average tenure of a branch manager at 1st Nor Cal is 30 years! There is clearly an organization-wide commitment to the credit union’s “people helping people” philosophy. Every employee adds value to the organization’s relationship with the community. The down-to-earth, member-first ethos is the foundation that allows 1st Nor Cal to offer the lowest fees in the region and some of the most competitive loan rates around.
Congratulations 1st Nor Cal, the Bay Area looks forward to your next 75 years of service to the community.
For more information:
888-387-8632
www.1stnorcalcu.org
