We were chartered in January, 1955 to serve the financial needs of the Corp of Engineers Wilmington District employees. The charter was amended in 1976 to allow other US Government employees membership eligibility. This change meant the credit union could attract a larger group of potential borrowers. Bringing in more customers was the 1983 merger with WILPO Credit Union, adding US Postal employees as eligible members.

The credit union began by offering basic share savings and small loans. It thrived by adding new lending products to its list of services. But in 1992, the credit union reached a plateau due to the downsizing of sponsor groups and declining participation by an aging membership population.

During the last couple of years there has been a major shift in member behavior from borrowing to saving. The board of directors has added new products and services to their investment line to help retain existing members.

In August 2000, the board voted to open the doors to the community. This change allowed those who live, work, worship, or attend school in Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin, New Hanover, and Pender Counties to be eligible for membership. The amendment also included businesses located in the same counties. During 2001, with the new community charter in mind, the board of directors added several new products such as VISA check cards, VISA Gold cards, and an interactive website. Our goal is to attract younger members and to stay competitive as an affordable financial alternative to commercial banks.



A credit union is a nonprofit, cooperative financial institution, that works for the membership's best interests, not for the interest of a few stockholders. Profits from loans and investments are returned to members in the form of higher dividends on savings, lower interest rates on loans, and expanded or improved services. The credit union is owned by its members and governed by a member-elected board of directors.


Credit unions were organized in Germany at a time when interest rates were high and people were poor. The crop failure and famine of 1846 caused citizens to form a cooperative credit society, known as the "People's Bank." The primary goal was to help German farmers purchase livestock, equipment, seeds and other farming equipment. The credit union concept caught on in America in 1909 during the industrial revolution. Factory workers pooled their monies to lend to one another at lower rates.


The first credit union and the credit unions of today still have the same underlying principle: pooling members' money together to provide a safe place to save and borrow at reasonable rates. Keeping with the same pooling philosophy, credit unions today have been able to remain successful by uniting to share the costs of data processing, employee education and regulatory expenses. This unity has allowed individual credit unions to increase their product lines and remain a competitive, less expensive alternative to traditional banking.


They can earn money in three ways: interest on loans, interest earned on investments, and service fees. A credit union’s nonprofit status mandates a bonus dividend to be paid to members if profits exceed a 3% return on assets.