USA Federal Credit Union
Encyclopedia
United Services of America Federal Credit Union (often referred to as USA Federal Credit Union or USA Fed) was a credit union
Credit union
A credit union is a cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members and operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit at competitive rates, and providing other financial services to its members...

 headquartered in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

, chartered and regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration
National Credit Union Administration
The National Credit Union Administration is the United States independent federal agency that supervises and charters federal credit unions...

 (NCUA) of the U.S. federal government.

As of April 2009, USA Federal Credit Union had over $600 million USD in assets, and over 61,000 members.

USA Fed was one of 19 credit unions based in San Diego, California

History

USA Federal Credit Union began in November 1953 with ten members as N.T.C. San Diego Employees Federal Credit Union. The employee-organized federal credit union was initially formed to serve the civilian employees of the Naval Training Center San Diego
Naval Training Center San Diego
Naval Training Center San Diego is a former United States Navy base located at the north end of San Diego Bay. The Naval Training Center site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and many of the individual structures are designated as historic by the city of San Diego.The base...

. In 1955, all military personnel working at N.T.C. were added to the field of membership. As the credit union grew, the field of membership expanded internationally allowing for USA Fed's presence in the Pacific Rim.

From 2004 until 2007, the credit union marketed itself as USA Federal, unveiling a unified brand image across printed collateral materials and their online presence.

In 2008, the credit union began promoting the use of the shortened name USA Fed. On March 26, 2010, USA Fed announced to members that their official web site address would be changing to usafed.org.

On September 22, 2010, USA Fed announced plans to merge with Navy Federal Credit Union
Navy Federal Credit Union
Navy Federal Credit Union is a credit union headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, chartered and regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration of the U.S. federal government. Navy Federal is the largest natural member credit union in the world, both in asset size and in...

, stating that joint operations would begin October 4, 2010 under the Navy Federal banner.

Membership

USA Fed's field of membership was set by the NCUA. As with all credit unions, membership in USA Federal is limited to individuals sharing the common bond defined in its credit union charter. Membership in USA Fed is limited to:
  • All Department of Defense (DoD) uniformed personnel — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, retirees and annuitants

  • All Department of Defense reservists — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, — regardless of drill status — retirees and annuitants

  • All Army and Air National Guard personnel — regardless of drill status — civilian employees, retirees and annuitants

  • All DoD Officer Candidate programs: midshipmen and cadets at the United States Naval Academy
    United States Naval Academy
    The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

    , United States Military Academy
    United States Military Academy
    The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

    , United States Air Force Academy
    United States Air Force Academy
    The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...

    , United States Coast Guard Academy
    United States Coast Guard Academy
    Founded in 1876, the United States Coast Guard Academy is the military academy of the United States Coast Guard. Located in New London, Connecticut, it is the smallest of the five federal service academies...

     and the United States Merchant Marine Academy
    United States Merchant Marine Academy
    The United States Merchant Marine Academy is one of the five United States Service academies...

    ; personnel in Officer Candidate programs

  • All DoD civilian employees

  • U.S. government employees assigned to DoD installations

  • DoD contractors assigned to U.S. government installations

  • Select Employee Groups (SEGs)

  • Family members, including grandparents, parents, spouses, siblings, grandchildren, children (including adopted, foster and stepchildren) and household members

Organization

USA Fed was chartered with NCUA. Like all credit unions, USA Fed was governed by a board of volunteers, elected by and from its membership.

Services

USA Fed offered the typical suite of account services offered by most financial institutions, including savings accounts, checking accounts, IRA accounts, and certificates. The savings product is named "Share Savings" to reflect the fact that a member's initial savings deposit ($5) literally represents their share of ownership in the credit union. USA Fed also offers members consumer loans, credit cards, mortgages and home equity lines of credit, as well as some small business services. USA Fed's Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO), CUSO Financial Services, L.P. (CFS), offers more extensive investment services, online brokerage services, and insurance.

By June 30, 2010, USA Fed closed their Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

, NV branch, one of several inherited from another credit union they absorbed years ago, bringing the total branched to 19. As of March 9, 2009, USA Fed has 20 branches and 23 ATMs, located both inside the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 (California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

) and abroad (Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

).

Scholarship programs

In 1987, the Board of Directors at USA Federal established a Student Scholarship Program awarding five scholarships to college-bound high school seniors.

In 2001, following the untimely death of the USA Federal CEO, the Board renamed the Scholarship Program the Martin P. Cassell Scholarship Program in his honor.

In 2006, the Board of Directors established The CDR Timothy R. McMaster, USN, Scholarship Program in memoriam of a distinguished Board Member who provided 22 years (1984–2006) of volunteer service to USA Federal Credit Union. One scholarship will be awarded to a college-bound high school senior who is the child of an active duty military member.

Community involvement

USA Fed was a long-time supporter of San Diego Fleet Week
Fleet Week
Fleet Week is a United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard tradition in which active military ships recently deployed in overseas operations dock in a variety of major cities for one week. Once the ships dock, the crews can enter the city and visit its tourist...

, where Director of Military Affairs and former prisoner-of-war, Jim Bedinger, has served in several officer positions, including Treasurer for the San Diego Fleet Week Foundation.

Since 2004, USA Fed has been a sponsor of Walk on the Wild Side , an event benefiting the San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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