Seventeen credit unions, 15 banks and five military-affiliated organizations have been awarded the “America Saves Designation of Excellence” from America Saves for their “extraordinary efforts to motivate their communities” to build personal savings during America Saves Week/Military Saves Week.
The award is presented annually to organizations that succeed in getting people to open or add to wealth-building accounts.
“At a time when just two in five American households report making good or excellent savings progress, these organizations are going above and beyond to encourage and support their community to save,” America Saves Director George Barany said in a statement. “This year’s designees are the leaders in their field at responding to the savings crisis by working directly with American families to open and add to savings accounts. These banks, credit unions and military-affiliated organizations don’t just tell people why it’s important to save, they help them do it.”
America Saves Week is coordinated each year by America Saves and the American Savings Education Council.
“Based on national research, the one thing we know is that when we help people save, they are able to chart a brighter financial future and weather unexpected financial challenges,” said Gigi Hyland, National Credit Union Foundation executive director. “As chair of the America Saves Designation of Savings Excellence credit union selection committee, the Foundation is proud to help advance credit unions’ efforts to help members save through the America Saves on the Designation and America Saves Week.”
America Saves Week said in a statement that it recognizes the “important role” credit unions play in helping families save money and build wealth. “That’s why we recognize credit unions that go above and beyond to encourage people to save during the week with the America Saves Designation of Savings Excellence,” the group added. “A selection committee comprised of credit union and America Saves leaders reviewed applications and selected credit unions to receive this recognition.”
This year's credit union honorees are:
- Air Force Federal Credit Union, or AFFCU (based in San Antonio, Texas., assets of $400 million);
- Andrews Federal Credit Union (Suitland, Md.; $1.5 billion);
- Beach Municipal Federal Credit Union (Virginia Beach, Va.; $121 million);
- Bi-County PTC Federal Credit Union (Warren, Mich.; $8 million);
- Eglin Federal Credit Union (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; $1.9 billion);
- Hanscom Federal Credit Union (Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.; $1.3 billion);
- Harvard University Employees Credit Union (Cambridge, Mass., $655 million);
- Jax Federal Credit Union (Jacksonville, Fla.; $397 million);
- Keys Federal Credit Union (Key West, Fla.; $151 million);
- Municipal Employees Credit Union of Baltimore (Baltimore; $1.2 billion);
- Navy Federal Credit Union (Vienna, Va.; $90 billion);
- New Horizons Credit Union (Mobile, Ala.; $218 million);
- Pacific Marine Credit Union (Oceanside, Calif.; $837 million);
- Pioneer Valley Federal Credit Union (Springfield, Mass.; $77 million);
- R.I.A. Federal Credit Union (Bettendorf, Iowa; $405 million);
- Service Credit Union (Portsmouth, N.H.; $3.4 billion); and
- Westmark Credit Union (Idaho Falls, Idaho; $751 million).
Steven Lepper, president and chief executive officer of Association of Military Banks of America, said: “The America Saves Designation for Savings Excellence is a distinction awarded to banks that promotes a savings culture among their customers. The 2018 designation recognizes those banks that led the way toward a common goal of maximizing savings by employing unique and innovative approaches to money management. Through education, marketing and other mechanisms designed to increase awareness about the why and how of saving money, this year’s designation recipients are helping to build the financial security of thousands of individuals and families across multiple generations of Americans.”
This year's bank honorees are:
- Armed Forces Bank (based in McGuire AFB, N.J.);
- BancorpSouth Bank (Tupelo, Miss.);
- Bank of America (Charlotte, N.C.);
- Bank of Guam (Hagatna, Guam);
- Broadway Bank (San Antonio, Texas);
- Farmers Savings Bank (Mineral Point, Wis.);
- First Arkansas Bank & Trust (Jacksonville, Ark.);
- First Commonwealth Bank (Indiana, Pa.);
- Fort Hood National Bank (Fort Hood, Texas);
- Home Federal Bank (Knoxville, Tenn.);
- M&T Bank Corporation (Buffalo, N.Y.);
- Mechanics Bank (Richmond, Calif.) SmartyPig, an FDIC-insured online piggy bank of Sallie Mae Bank;
- Southern Bancorp (Arkadelphia, Ark.); and
- WesBanco Bank Inc. (Wheeling, W.Va.).
