Rye residents pass by it all the time, particularly on their way to or from the train station or Home Depot. Their eyes are caught by the wooded property with three beautiful, bubbling fountains rising up from a large reflecting pond.
By Bill Lawyer
Rye residents pass by it all the time, particularly on their way to or from the train station or Home Depot. Their eyes are caught by the wooded property with three beautiful, bubbling fountains rising up from a large reflecting pond.
Maybe their eyes are also caught by the sign at the entrance to the nearly 8-acre property, which includes a two-story building and a large parking lot. The sign says USAlliance Federal Credit Union, with an American flag incorporated into the words.
But most people, even longtime Rye residents, don’t really know what it is or what it does, despite the fact that the company’s been operating at the site since 1974. The part of the logo that stands out is the USAlliance, so some people think it’s some kind of government facility.
The management staff of USAlliance has sensed this vague sense of confusion as well. That’s why on Sunday, July 29th, they sponsored their first ever “Family Fun Fair” – to really introduce their company to all the residents of Rye.
The goal of reaching out to the community was put in place by the company’s new CEO, Kris VanBeek, and its assistant director for marketing, Joann Kay.
VanBeek, who was recruited from the Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) back in December, recently moved with his family to Rye. He was with DCU for eight years, and before that worked for commercial banks.
The USAlliance office building in Rye serves both as a branch for its local customers and as the headquarters of the entire company’s operation. They have 16 branches in New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts. In all, over 200 employees work for the company, 98 at the Rye facility. Several live in Rye.
USAlliance was founded in 1966 as a federal credit union serving the financial needs of IBM employees. Since then, through a series of mergers and expansion of definition as to who is eligible to join, they now have over 50,000 worldwide members and assets in excess of $800 million. They are Westchester County’s largest credit union.
In 2011 USAlliance paid $160,505 in taxes to the Rye School District, Westchester County, and the City.
Federal credit unions were established by the U.S. government during the Depression back in 1934, in response to the many failures of commercial banks due to bad investments and mismanagement.
The concept of credit unions was first developed in Europe in the 19th century, then spread to Canada in the early 20th century. Credit unions are membership based, with eligibility based on where people live, work, associations they are part of, or to whom they are related. They are non-profits in that there are no profits distributed to shareholders. Any surplus of income over expenses is used to lower loan interest rates or raise savings interest rates.
VanBeek says that if you compare credit union rates with commercial banks, you will find the former are better. He noted that since December their assets have increased by $70 million.
He adds that “USAlliance has a broad membership scope and we can offer services on a far more global level than most credit unions. If people want to become one of our valued members, they should call us. Together, we’ll find the easiest path to eligibility.”
That’s the message that VanBeek and Kay will be promoting in the months ahead. They’ve already achieved their goal for the year of getting over 3,000 individual members and 6,000 through mergers. Rye’s branch is in USAlliance’s top three in terms of activity.
They want people to know about their many products and services, which include auto, business, and home equity loans, mortgages, checking and high yield savings accounts, IRAs, insurance, ATMs and teller service. Aspiring homeowners can learn more about mortgages at https://cishomeloans.com/blog/va-home-loan-process/.
Kay says she wants to actively involve their company in Rye’s activities and non-profits, and she encourages groups to contact her.
