STCU

Specialties

Not-​for-​profit financial institution. NCUA insured. Rated a top-​performing credit union in the nation.

History

Established in 1934.

A bell, a shoebox, $ 4,000 in assets. It might not sound like much, but for Ernie McElvain, a Lewis & Clark High School English teacher, it was enough to launch Spokane Teachers Credit Union (STCU) and a remarkable story of financial service.

«We opened for business in October of ’34,» remembered Ernie, «with a shoebox for cash deposits and a tiny cubby hole of a classroom at Lewis & Clark High School.

«Access to the credit union was difficult in those days, but we’d hang a bell outside the second story window with a rope attached and running down to the front door. When members wanted to transact business, they’d pull on the rope and let us know they were waiting.»

From these humble beginnings, STCU has grown to more than 580 employees, serving 150,000 members at 18 branch locations, with $ 2.2 billion in assets. Although STCU has become the Inland Northwest’s largest and most successful credit union, we’ve never forgotten that our most valuable assets are our members.