CUSC Shared Branch Locations Surpass 1,400

Credit Union Service Corp. (CUSC) reported that is has now surpassed the 1,400 threshold for the number of locations available nationwide. "A remarkable 182 of these service centers opened their doors to shared branching during the first half of 2004 alone, with 53% of them represented by the CUSC network," CUSC said. The increase in locations follows the addition of the Maine network, which signed on with CUSC in spring of 2004 and has since opened 12 locations. Indiana led the way with new locations on the CUSC network, with the addition of 26 service centers opening since June 2003. CUSC credited the growth to its state-of-the-art switch, the Next Generation Network (NGN), which it says makes it possible for more credit unions to offer shared branching to their members. CUSC said its shared branching network represents 55% of all national locations and 68% of CUs participating in shared branching.