BY WAYNE HEILMAN

The nation’s largest credit union will open two branches in Colorado Springs by the end of next year as part of a plan to serve all military personnel.

Navy Federal Credit Union is opening the branches as part of its May 22 expansion to serve all military personnel, including Air Force and Army, from its previous Navy-only membership, said Jennifer Sadler, a spokeswoman for the Virginia-based credit union.

Navy Federal expanded its membership to serve all current and former military personnel and their families because "all branches of the armed forces share resources, conduct joint operations, serve on the same bases and use the same exchanges, commissaries and medical facilities," said Cutler Dawson, the credit union’s president.

The move into the Springs puts Navy Federal in direct competition for members with Ent Federal Credit Union, southern Colorado’s largest financial institution, and Security Service Federal Credit Union. Both serve large numbers of military members.

"This is the biggest challenge Ent has faced in recent years. It will give people some options," said Larry Martin of Bank Strategies LLC, a Denver-based bank consulting firm. "Ent needs a little competition, and Navy brings a lot of substance to that competition."

Navy Federal will open its first branch at 1139 Space Center Drive, just outside Peterson Air Force Base, in the fourth quarter and its second at 1265 Kelly Johnson Blvd., near the south entrance of the Air Force Academy, sometime next year, Sadler said.

"A recent study we did found only 50 percent of our members lived near one of our branches (within five miles), so we want to expand where our existing members are and where Army and Air Force personnel are located," Sadler said. "We want 80 to 90 percent of our members to live near one of our branches within six years."

Navy Federal, which now operates 150 branches in 24 states and 10 other countries, plans to open 180 branches to meet that goal, she said. The credit union already has 6,000 members in the Springs area who handle their accounts through ATMs and the Internet, and it hopes to recruit more from the Air Force and Army, she said.

Neither Ent nor Security Service seem worried by competition from Navy Federal, which at $33 billion in assets last year was 13 times larger than Ent and seven times larger than Security Service and ranks among the nation’s 45 largest financial institutions.

Ent was started to serve personnel at what is now Peterson Air Force Base, and Security Service expanded to the Springs by acquiring a credit union serving Fort Carson.

"We welcome them and will stay focused on serving our members needs," said Jim Moore, Ent’s senior vice president. "We feel we can compete quite well with them. Pentagon (Federal Credit Union) and Security Service are both larger than us and already here."

John Worthington, Security Service’s senior vice president, said Navy Federal expanded last year in San Antonio, where Security Service is based. He said Security Service already successfully competes with many banks that have expanded into markets where it operates.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0234 or wayneh@gazette.com  

NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Headquarters: Vienna, Va.
President and chief executive: Cutler Dawson
Founded: 1933 with seven members
Employees: 7,200
Branches: 150 in 24 states and 11 countries
Members: 3.07 million activeduty, retired and civilian Navy personnel and contractors, including family members
Assets: $35.2 billion*
Deposits: $24.8 billion*
Loans: $28.6 billion*
Services: Savings and checking accounts, mortgages, home equity loans, car loans, credit cards, business loans and insurance and investment services through Navy Federal Financial Group
Recent change: National Credit Union Administration last month approved adding Air Force, Army, National Guard and Reserve personnel and U.S. Department of Defense civilian employees as eligible members