WAIPAHU, Hawaii — Pearl Harbor Federal Credit Union changed its name to Pearl Hawaii Federal Credit Union, effective July 1.
The name change did not arise as a result of a merger or change of ownership for the $337 million credit union. The new name is designed to alleviate confusion about who is eligible to join the CU.
"We are very excited about our new name and the future of our credit union," president and CEO Neal S. Takase said in a statement. "We've served the island of Oahu for almost 80 years, and we're tremendously proud of our history and heritage. This change is one of many steps we are taking to positively position the credit union for continued, strong growth for the next 80 years."
The CU conducted research that revealed that the "Pearl Harbor" name created confusion among potential members who believed the credit union was exclusive to military or to individuals who worked on Pearl Harbor, the deep-water naval base that is the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet. It is also well known as the target for Japanese bombers in December 1941 in an attack that killed more than 2400 people.
But membership in the credit union is available to everyone who lives on the island of Oahu.
"We chose the name Pearl Hawaii because we wanted to keep the acronym PHFCU. Also, we wanted to let the community at large know that they can join," Takase added. "Our new name will also feature the tagline 'your best interest' to reflect our credit union's culture of better rates, minimal fees, upbeat service, and easy access to state-of-the-art technology."
