SPOKANE, WA (December 22, 2014) -- The Spokane-based credit union reached $2 billion in total assets in November. The milestone coincides with the credit union’s 80th anniversary. STCU, originally called Spokane Teachers Credit Union, was founded by educators in 1934.
“We’ve grown because of our members and their love for STCU,” said Tom Johnson, President and CEO of STCU. “We’ve reached this height by standing on the shoulders of hundreds of employees and more than 100 board and supervisory committee members who have served STCU since 1934 – all of whom have kept the heart of the member at the forefront of every decision.”
For nine consecutive years, STCU has been named “Best Credit Union” in the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene area in a comprehensive and highly anticipated Pacific Northwest Inlander annual reader survey. The well-read weekly publication has a distribution of 50,000.
Recently, STCU has focused its efforts toward improving the online banking experience, launching its mobile app and increasing digital marketing platforms to meet the needs of millennials and other tech-savvy members. It will be among the earliest credit unions to offer Apple Pay.
“We opened for business in October of '34 with a shoebox for cash deposits and a tiny cubby hole of a classroom at Lewis and Clark High School,” the late Ernie McElvain, an LC teacher who served as president for STCU’s first 30 years, told interviewers on several occasions.
STCU had $4,000 in assets and 120 members when 1934 came to a close. Now, STCU is the largest credit union in the Inland Northwest, with more than 130,000 members, 525 employees and 17 branch locations. An 18th branch, the STCU Crossroads Branch in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, will early next year.
STCU hit $1 billion in 2004, its 70th anniversary year. Since then, the milestones have come more quickly, with the credit union hitting $1.5 billion in 2011 and $2 billion this month.
“If Ernie were around today, he’d probably say that we’re going to need a bigger shoebox!” Johnson said.