1st Financial Federal Credit Union

1st Financial Federal Credit Union (or 1st Financial) is a federal credit union headquartered in Wentzville, Missouri, chartered and regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). 1st Financial has over $210 million in assets and over 31,000 members.
Membership
Membership in 1st Financial Federal Credit Union, as with all credit unions, is limited to a specific field of membership, or bond of association, defined in its credit union charter. 1st Financial has a community-based charter and is open to those who live, work, worship, attend school in, or regularly conduct business in the following geographic areas:
* City of St. Louis
* St. Louis County
* St. Charles County
In addition, other qualifying situations include:
* Immediate family of current credit union members
* Spouses of persons who died while within the field of membership of 1st Financial
* Employees of 1st Financial and retired employees
* Volunteers of 1st Financial
Organization
1st Financial is chartered with the NCUA as a community chartered credit union. 1st Financial is governed by an all-volunteer board of directors that is elected by its membership.
1st Financial is a member of the Missouri Credit Union Association, through which it is associated with the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).
Services
1st Financial offers numerous financial products and services including savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, credit cards, auto loans, signature loans, home loans, home equity loans, online banking and online bill pay services.
1st Financial’s “share savings” amount is $1, in which each member must have a $1 balance in their “share savings account” in order to maintain membership with the credit union.
In addition to personal banking services, 1st Financial offers business banking deposit and loan services to small to medium sized businesses.
Currently, 1st Financial operates four branch locations including Downtown St. Louis, Hazelwood, St. Charles, and Wentzville, Missouri.
1st Financial is part of the Missouri Shared Branching and National Shared Branch Network and serves as an outlet for other credit union shared branch members to use 1st Financial facilities for their banking services.
History
1st Financial Federal Credit Union was charted in 1968 as District 837 Credit Union to serve the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers, District 837 employed by McDonnell Douglas, which is now The Boeing Company. The state chartered credit union originally had a Select Employer Group Charter and could only serve those within the IAMAW District 837 Union.
In 1997, Aerospace became the first credit union in Missouri to offer shared branching services to other credit union members.
Expansion, mergers, name changes
In March 1979, the credit union changed its name to Aerospace Credit Union. In 1983, the Missouri Division of Credit Unions approved an additional company to the field of membership, Sabreliner Corporation.
In June 1989, Aerospace Credit Union merged with Western-Superior Foley Credit Union. Also in 1989, the Missouri Division of Credit Unions approved the transition from a Select Employee Group Charter to a community charter. The new community charter added zip codes in the Hazelwood, Maryland Heights, and Bridgeton communities.
In 1991, Aerospace Credit Union merged with Victory Credit Union and gained an additional branch and companies to serve in the downtown St. Louis area.
In 1992, Aerospace expanded into St. Peters and St. Charles and opened another new branch in St. Charles, which later became the credit union headquarters.
In 1993, the credit union changed its name to Aerospace Community Credit Union to reflect its community charter.
By 2006, Aerospace Community Credit Union had penetrated the surrounding communities and the original sponsor group, McDonnell Douglas/Boeing employees made up a small portion of the general membership. In 2006, Aerospace changed its charter to a federal charter through approval by the National Credit Union Administration and in November 2006 changed its name to 1st Financial Federal Credit Union to better reflect its growing community membership base.
In the fall of 2008, 1st Financial opened its fourth branch and moved its headquarters from St. Charles, Missouri to Wentzville, Missouri.

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