MANSFIELD, Texas — Texas Trust Credit Union says it wants to be a $1 billion institution by the end of 2016, and the CU is moving in that direction with double-digit growth in assets, loans and members last year.
Texas Trust CU, which currently has $824 million in assets, benefited in part by a merger with Security One CU in 2013. Its assets grew by more than 10%, its loans by 19% and its total membership by 29% last year.
In 2013, TTCU added 15,773 new members — including 9,000 from Security One — ending the year with more than 70,000 members. Its loan portfolio added 450 new mortgages, plus strong gains in auto and personal loans. It ended 2013 with $564.7 million in loans, after starting the year at $477 million.
Jim Minge, CEO, told Credit Union Journal TTCU broke down the numbers to fully gauge the impact of the merger of Security One CU.
He said the biggest effect was seen in direct auto lending, where more than half of new loans were from merged members, and indirect auto, which saw nearly half of its 33% category growth from Security One members.
"We had very balanced loan growth across all categories," Minge said. "Our real estate lending grew 10%, much of that organically [not from Security One CU members]. Our leases grew 32%, all organic growth. On our credit card portfolio, the merger added 14% to our balances."
It also was a good year for unsecured loans, he added, mostly vacation loans or holiday loan promos. This category was up 31% overall, most of that from the merger.
There were several factors that led to the strong loan growth, Minge explained. On the mortgage side, he said TTCU is the largest credit union mortgage lender in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.
"We work really hard to keep our name out there," he said. "We have a VP who grows our mortgage business one relationship at a time. The merger gave us a great opportunity because those members did not previously have the option to get a mortgage through their credit union. When we see a Security One member in our branches, we make sure to let them know they can get a mortgage from us."
Texas Trust CU's indirect program is "excellent," according to Minge. He said it is strong enough to be able to "pick and choose" dealers with which it does business with.
"We have two representatives who work on relationships," he said. "We are blessed that the DFW market is booming right now, bucking the national trend, and overall car sales are strong."
Community Outreach
Amber Danford, SVP of marketing and business development, said Texas Trust CU has an overall strategy being out in the community. In 2013, marketing was focused on cable radio and Internet radio, including Pandora.
"We want to be a billion-dollar credit union by 2016, and we want members to use us as their primary financial institution, so we get them engaged," she said.
TTCU added five new branches in 2013, including two from the merger. Danford said the credit union's outside business development team visited all of the branches regularly to drive engagement.
Minge noted the two branches in Arlington that were added via Security One were in north and south Arlington, while TTCU's previous two branches in the city were referred to as "east" and "west."
"The new branches fit right in with our network and added to the perceived convenience in members' minds," he said.
Dallas/Fort Worth is a "very competitive market," Minge said, attributing part of TTCU's success to its continued use of free checking accounts. In 2013 it added mobile deposit, which he said also drives membership and usage.
Texas Trust has three in-school branches, so its main membership drive is during back-to-school times. It has a product line specifically for public servants, including military, educators and firefighters. These members get special promotions, such as a $100 gas card with a car loan.
TTCU recently developed a relationship with a company that has 11 ATMs at Murphy USA gas stations, which are located on the premises at Walmart stores. The CU has wrapped the machines with its logo, which Minge said gives "great visibility and adds to convenience."
"We do not attribute the growth to any one promotion," Minge said. "We make sure our members are bragging about us, and there are a lot of people in our market borrowing and we are happy to help them do it."
Another development in 2013: Texas Trust launched an alliance with the University of Texas at Arlington, becoming the official credit union sponsor of the school's intercollegiate athletics program.
"The market continues to thrive," said Minge. "We have some great partnerships, including the University of Texas at Arlington. We are their official credit union and we are working hard at putting a new branch there. We will be offering branded credit and debit cards to the campus community. That is a huge relationship and we will be working to take advantage of it the next five to seven years."
