Altura Credit Union

Altura Credit Union

Company type	Credit union
Industry	Financial services
Founded	1957
Headquarters	2847 Campus Pkwy Riverside, California, United States
Area served	Riverside County
Key people	Jennifer Binkley, President/CEO Board of Directors Perry Reed, Chairman Jerry Rivera, Vice Chair Joseph Calderon, Secretary Gloria Perez, Treasurer
Products	Savings; checking; consumer loans; mortgages; credit cards; investments
Services	Online banking, mobile banking, web bill pay, Apple Pay, PopMoney, online & mobile loan applications

Altura Credit Union (Altura) is the largest credit union headquartered in Riverside County, California, with over 175,000 members and assets in excess of $2 billion, as of December 2022. It is a federally insured, state-chartered financial institution, offering financial products and services that include checking and savings accounts, commercial and residential mortgage loans, and wealth management services. It also belongs to the CO-OP Financial Services and CU Service Centers interbank networks.

Institutional History

Altura was originally founded in 1957 as Riverside Schools Credit Union in order to serve the banking and financial needs of county school district employees. In 1998, it merged with Riverside County Federal Credit Union, which served both private and public sector employees in Riverside County, and was re-named Riverside County's Credit Union.

In 2004, after expanding its field of membership to include Riverside County, San Diego County, and select cities in Orange County and San Bernardino County, Riverside County's Credit Union was renamed Altura Credit Union, and was also accompanied by the adoption of a new corporate logo and brand identity.

Merger with Visterra Credit Union

In 2015, Altura and Visterra Credit Union (Visterra), which was also based in Riverside County, announced a merger between the two financial institutions. The development reflected a mutual desire to better serve the needs of their combined members. The merger, which was finalized on August 1, 2015, created a $1.1 billion credit union with 118,000 Members.[1] At the time that the merger was announced, Altura managed $757.3 million in assets and served nearly 84,000 Members, while Visterra managed $335.6 million in assets and served approximately 34,000 Members. The merged institutions retained the Altura name. On March 1, 2016, Altura completed the final phase of the merger process - the conversion and integration of their respective core systems.

Membership

Altura's field of membership is set by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Membership in Altura is open to anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Riverside County, San Diego County, and select cities in Orange County and San Bernardino County. Following its merger with Visterra, Altura's field of membership expanded further to include U.S. military, government and civilian employees of the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, and retirees of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Branch Locations

Altura Credit Union operates 19 full-service branch locations and 52 Altura-branded ATM in Riverside County. Altura members also have access to over 5,200 shared branching locations and 30,000 ATMs nationwide.[2]

Auto Expert

Altura operates a subsidiary company, Auto Expert.[3] Auto Expert is an auto locating and buying service that assists Altura's members (as well as members of 11 partner credit unions) in finding and purchasing their next pre-owned or new vehicle. In 2007, Auto Expert received the California Award for Performance Excellence (CAPE) Gold Award.[4] This award is the California equivalent of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

Institutional Milestones

• 1957 Charter granted for Riverside City Schools Employees Credit Union to serve Riverside Unified School District classified employees.
• 1963 Charter enlarged to include all school employees of Riverside County, changed the name o Riverside Schools Credit Union Charter and expanded to include certificated employees
• 1965 Reached $1 million in assets
• 1973 Moved to Riverside Avenue location
• 1984 Opened 10,000th account; began offering VISA card
• 1988 Mark Hawkins replaced Shirley Barden as President; reached $40 million in assets
• 1989 Changed name to Riverside County Schools Credit Union
• 1992 Established RCSCU's own ATM network
• 1993 Altura Foundation launches the College Scholarship Program
• 1995 Opened Member Service Center; reached $100 million in assets; RCSCU Foundation (for scholarships) approved by the IRS; introduced VISA Check Card
• 1998 Riverside County Schools Credit Union merged with Riverside County Federal Credit Union to form Riverside County's Credit Union, with $250 million in assets and 60,000 members.
• 2004 Re-named to Altura Credit Union
• 2011 Received the Marketing Association of Credit Unions Gold Award for advertising campaign[5]
• 2012 Named the "Favorite Credit Union" by readers of The Press-Enterprise newspaper in its 17th Annual Readers' Choice Awards.
• 2014 Highlanders Sports Properties of Learfield Sports, the multimedia rights partner of the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and Highlander Athletics, announced a new, four-year exclusive partnership that granted Altura a visible presence on the UCR campus, with Highlander Spirit Debit Cards, in-game promotions, venue branding, and the placement of an ATM in SRC Arena.
• 2015 Announced merger with Visterra, which served military and civilian employees of March Air Reserve Base and military retirees
• 2015 Ofelia Valdez-Yeager was elected Chairperson of the Board of Directors, becoming the first woman to hold that title in Altura's history.
• 2015 Completed merger with Visterra Credit Union on August 1, 2015
• 2016 Altura President & CEO Mark Hawkins announced that he would retire in February 2017 after 29 years of service.[6]
• 2017 Altura's Board of Directors announced on January 11, 2017, that Jennifer Binkley had been selected as the new President/CEO. Binkley had been Altura's executive vice president and chief operating officer since 2008, and previously was president of Altura's Auto Expert subsidiary from 2002 until 2008.

References

1. "BANKING: Altura Credit Union, Visterra plan to merge". February 19, 2015.
2. "Find an Altura Branch Near You - Altura Credit Union". altura.
3. "Auto Expert Online – Southern California Auto Buying Made Easy".
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-10-04. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
5. "We Won a National Gold Advertising Award". Echo-Factory Blog. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
6. "RIVERSIDE: Altura CEO Mark Hawkins announces retirement". May 24, 2016.