Texas credit union dumps community charter in growth push

Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union has successfully converted from a community charter to a much larger multiple common bond charter in the state of Texas.

The $270 million-asset credit union said it needed to make the change in order to expand its field of membership.

“We’ve had larger credit unions coming in within the last three or four years that are multibillion-dollar institutions,” said CEO Jeremy Garza, who has been with Gulf Coast FCU for 18 years. “We felt that if we're going to continue to grow ... we wanted to definitely look into other areas.”

Before the expansion, membership was residency-based for individuals who live, work, worship, or attend school in the Texas counties of Jim Wells, Nueces and San Patricio. Relatives of pre-existing members were eligible to join as well.

In the past, Gulf Coast was able to execute smaller-scale expansions on its own. But when it came time to grow again, the challenges grew in size as well. “We just thought, Man, this is going to be a really big challenge, you know?” Garza said. “Every county to have to try and do this in? And how are we going to present a different case for every county that’s added to our charter?”

To assist its diversification, Garza looked to CUCollaborate, a consulting firm for over 100 credit unions aiding in factors from marketing to technology.

“CUCollaborate really explained how they were going to do it, laid it out, and really kind of gave us a plan on how we can achieve this goal with the assistance of them and to get all the counties in the area that we were looking for all at once,” Garza said. "Their process of what they needed, they were able to outline it, and specifically tell each one of my departments what things they needed from us to move forward."

Gulf Coast was able to identify a larger area of operation than what it originally considered, covering an additional three underserved areas. "When credit unions begin using their fields of membership as a strategic tool, we can reach more members in need of financial services and collaboratively fulfill the people-helping-people philosophy,” Sam Brownell, founder and CEO of CUCollaborate, said in a press release.