State Employees Credit Union of North Carolina is a financial institution located in Raleigh with over 2.6 million members nationwide and the second-largest natural member credit union in America. With multiple branches throughout North Carolina and an extensive range of banking services offered to members, this financial institution stands as an international leader.
Membership
State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU), one of the nation’s largest credit unions, offers banking, loans, investment savings accounts and customer service for its 2.6 million North Carolina members – making SECU one of the four best credit unions on GOBankingRates’ annual list of best credit unions. Membership eligibility extends to individuals who work for state or public boards of education as well as their family members.
Under Blaine’s leadership, SECU operated in direct opposition to conventions held by much larger credit unions and banks. For example, it offered level loan and deposit rates regardless of a member’s credit rating; similarly it defied home lending convention by refusing to adhere to rules set by quasi-governmental agencies like Fannie Mae; this approach proved unpopular with regulators but saved members billions. Now these decisions are being called into question by SECU’s board; seven directors have been replaced since Blaine left.
Deposit Accounts
The credit union provides deposit accounts such as checking and savings accounts, loans, investment vehicles and insurance and financial advisory services to state and federal employees living or working in North Carolina as well as their immediate family members. Membership eligibility includes state employees in North Carolina or federal employees with immediate family membership rights.
SECU offers competitive interest rates on its checking account with no minimum deposit requirement and 50 free checks each statement period. Their basic savings account, called a share account, earns a decent APY with no monthly service charge attached. In addition, SECU also offers education and health savings accounts which offer tax incentives when saving for education or healthcare costs.
Credit union has an expansive online banking platform offering bill pay, check image viewing, Quicken integration and transaction history tracking for members to access their accounts using mobile phones or the Member Services phone line. NCUA federally insures each account up to $250,000 while it also boasts branches and ATMs throughout California.
Loans
The State Employees Credit Union (SECU) is a financial institution owned and run by employees of North Carolina state government. With over 2 million members nationwide, SECU offers a diverse array of banking and loan products such as mortgages, investments and checking and savings accounts to its membership base of State Employees of North Carolina employees and their family members.
SECU offers several unique mortgage programs, such as low down payment mortgages and 100% financing loans, for members. A Share Secured Loan enables members to put funds away into savings while they repay their loans; this loan can be used both as primary residence financing as well as rental property financing.
Credit union members may take out student loans through the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). These Direct Loans are serviced by one of four large federal loan servicers and offer up to $40,000 of borrowing capacity each academic year through Subsidized and Unsubsidized Direct loans as well as other types of loans provided by USDE.
Investments
Credit union leaders are devising innovative plans to grow the credit-union system. Their plans include offering lower rates to members with superior credit ratings and expanding small business lending, an area which has lagged behind. While these changes could increase growth for credit-unions overall, some find them controversial because it may change how each member pays the same rates in general.
These strategies are supported by an infusion of cash from SECU’s $10 billion+ investment portfolio, managed by full-time professionals from Credit Union Investment Services (CUIS), which is owned and operated by SECU.
CUIS representatives employ an integrative approach to understand each person’s goals, risk tolerances, financial circumstances and investment experience before providing personalized guidance through mutual funds or individual retirement accounts – none of which are insured by the government and may lose value but still offer competitive interest rates.
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