EECU Celebrates 90th Anniversary
On April 21, EECU will celebrate its 90th anniversary. When we were founded in 1934, the country was in the midst of The Great Depression. That same year, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the landmark Federal Credit Union Act into law, which opened the door for credit unions to form and help the average person obtain credit more easily.
Nine teachers and administrators in the Fresno area saw an opportunity to help their fellow educators. They met and discussed forming a credit union to grant small loans to help their co-workers make ends meet. On April 21, 1934, Fresno Teachers Credit Union (FTCU) was chartered. Ninety years later, EECU is the largest credit union based in the central San Joaquin Valley, serving more than 367,000 members with over $4.6 billion in assets.
In the beginning, the credit union operated out of a small desk drawer at Fresno Technical High School and served a few hundred members. By the end of 1937, FTCU had 156 members and assets totaled just over $10,000. In the late 1940s, we took up residence in donated office space at Fresno Junior College. In 1963, the FTCU board of directors approved plans for a new, freestanding building that would serve as the credit union’s only office until our Barstow branch opened in 1975.
In 1981, we changed our name to Educational Employees Credit Union (EECU) to better reflect our field of membership, which has expanded over the years and now includes not just teachers but school employees, students, members of school organizations, and select employer groups as well.
During the past 90 years, we have added new products and services such as checking accounts, credit and debit cards, ATMs, home loans, and online and mobile banking, and we have expanded our financial education and community-giving initiatives. A lot has changed since 1934, but to us, the most important thing has always been putting our members first. Our members deserve the best, and so we will continue to provide financial products and services tailored to meet your needs and personalized service to help you achieve your goals for generations to come.
As we look to the future, we pause to commemorate our growth and success, and to thank our founding officials and managers for their vision, leadership and dedication. We also want to thank YOU – our loyal members – for trusting us to be your financial partner. After all, we wouldn’t be celebrating 90 years if it wasn’t for you!
We are excited about what we have accomplished together since 1934 and we look forward to serving our members and the community for another 90 years.
