LOMPOC, Calif. — Following a conversion from federal to state charter last month, the $750 million CoastHills Credit Union is expanding its services and field of membership to five contiguous Central Coast California counties to include Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Ventura.
The CU's new state-chartered status allows CoastHills to serve members beyond its previous coverage area, which was limited to the northern half of Santa Barbara County and San Luis Obispo County.
"It was a lengthy process, one in which we explored every possible way to grow our field of membership as a federally chartered credit union," Jeff York, president and chief executive of CoastHills, said in a statement.
"When all of those options were exhausted, we moved forward with converting. For our current members, this expands the pie, which allows us to offer more products to more members, in an efficient and effective way," York said.
The decision to expand was by vote of the 57,000-plus membership, Hugh Rafferty, chairman of CoastHills, said in the statement.
"It's a unique opportunity for our members to have the right to weigh in on such an important part of our future growth," he said. "We're pleased that they supported the board's recommendation to expand."
CoastHills plans to start with immediate opportunities for auto, mortgage and business lending.
"We're going to hit the ground running," York said. "I'm confident that the families and businesses in all five counties will learn very quickly that our products and services are outstanding, our rates are extremely competitive and our vision to make a difference in our neighbors' lives will stay consistent."
CoastHills plans to double its number of branch networks over the next five years, to 22 branches, from 11, with a "brick and mortar" presence in all five counties.
Additionally, there are 123 shared CU branches in the five-county area, plus more than 300 automatic teller machine that will provide members with surcharge-free ATM accessibility.
"Our new and existing members will be able to visit branches when they need to, even before we have our actual presence," York said. "Plus, they'll always be close to accessing a free ATM."
