DFCU Financial is a state-chartered credit union headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, regulated by Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. DFCU Financial is Michigan's second largest credit union behind Lake Michigan Credit Union. As of October 2010, DFCU Financial had approximately $3 billion in assets, 219,000 members, and 24 branches in Metro Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Lansing. Eligibility for membership is extended to anyone who lives, works or worships in the 68 counties of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Member deposits up to $250,000 in DFCU Financial are insured through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund.
History
Ford Engineering Employees Federal Credit Union was founded by employees of Ford Motor Company Engineering and Styling in February 1950. The Dearborn, Michigan credit union changed its name to Ford Dearborn Federal Credit Union in 1954 and then to Dearborn Federal Credit Union in 1960. In 2003, the credit union renamed itself DFCU Financial.
Bank conversion opposition
In December 2005, DFCU announced that it was seeking to convert to a mutual savings bank in order to expand geographically. NCUA initially rejected the member ballots that DFCU wanted to use for the conversion vote. In March 2006, the credit union mailed ballots to its members, enticing them to vote with cash prizes of up to $5000. DFCU encountered strong opposition to its conversion plans from its membership and the credit union community. Michigan GovernorJennifer Granholm, herself a member of DFCU, urged the membership to carefully review the credit union's disclosures. DFCU spent $1.2 million in its efforts to convince its membership to vote for the conversion and refused to release minutes from meetings of the Board of Directors to the membership. Members of the credit union formed a group called DFCU Owners United to oppose the conversion. The member group gathered 1762 signatures on a petition to recall the Board of Directors. After receiving the petition, DFCU withdrew its application to convert to a bank. Despite being required by its bylaws to hold a special membership meeting within 30 days of receiving the petition, DFCU refused to do so based on federal law. Members filed a lawsuit against the credit union and a Michigan court ruled in favor of the members in March 2008.
Recent Mergers
In 2009, DFCU Financial merged with CapCom Credit Union. CapCom was founded in the 1930s as the Municipal Employees Credit Union by firemen in Lansing to serve municipal employees. The Municipal Employees Credit Union grew through mergers over the years, most recently merging with Citizens Choice, Spartan Stores, Allied Builders & Contractors and Capital Community Credit Union/LSI Financial. The merger was approved by NCUA in November 2008. The merger required approval from DFCU Financial members, since the CapCom state charter was going to be the surviving charter. The vote was approved by the DFCU Financial membership, and on March 1, 2009, the merger was finalized. An official letter announcing a merger with MidWest Financial Credit Union of Ann Arbor was mailed to members on June 15, 2010. MidWest Financial had been formed to serve employees of the University of Michigan Health System. Members of MidWest Financial approved this merger effective October 1, 2010. The computersystem integration was completed on March 28, 2011. With this merger, DFCU Financial gained a presence in Washtenaw County with five branch locations.
Operations
DFCU Financial operates neighborhood branches and ATMs in several Michigan communities. Southeast Michigan neighborhood locations include: Ann Arbor, Canton, Commerce Township, Dearborn, Garden City, Livonia, Madison Heights, Plymouth, Riverview and Ypsilanti. Outside of Southeast Michigan, DFCU Financial has three neighborhood branches in Lansing and four in Grand Rapids that were acquired with the merger of the former CapCom Credit Union. DFCU Financial recently announced in July 2011 that its branch in Greenville also acquired from CapCom Credit Union would close in August. In addition to neighborhood branch locations, DFCU Financial also operates branches on the campuses of Henry Ford Health System in Detroit and University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor. ATMs are also found in some local workplaces, including hospitals, Ford Motor Company sites in Dearborn, and GE Avionics in Kentwood.
