Pacific Service Credit Union was founded in September 1936 by employees of Pacific Gas & Electric Company. Originally, membership was limited to employees of PG&E in the San Francisco Bay Area.  They recognized two classes of members:  1) the member who purchases shares as an opportunity for a sound investment, in addition to the opportunity of assisting those with whom he has a common bond of interest by making available funds for the use of other members; and 2) the member who desires to borrow money for a provident or productive purpose without being under the necessity of having to borrow from those agencies which, in the past, have made borrowing an almost unbearable burden.

In 1936, there were nine directors, seven members of the credit committee and seven members of the supervisory committee who volunteered their time to operate the credit union.  The loan maximum was $2,000 and share deposits were limited to $1,000.  By March 1938, there were 1,429 members with assets of $79,000 and one part-time employee was added.

Seventy years after its founding, Pacific Service CU has grown to nearly 70,000 members and surpassed $1 billion in assets in May 2004.  In 1999, Pacific Service CU became a community-chartered credit union serving anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno or Solano counties.  San Francisco County was added in January 2002.  Napa, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma counties were added in July 2003.  In June 2004, Placer and Sacramento counties were added to our field of membership.

As part of our conversion to a community charter, we employed a regional branch concept to strategically locate branches within our new franchises.  To date we have relocated our Contra Costa branch from a remote location in Walnut Creek to downtown Pleasant Hill.  The relocation of our Fresno branch from an inconvenient location in downtown Fresno to the growing area of north Fresno was completed in August 2003.  Our San Francisco branch was remodeled in 2003 to reflect the brand image that we have created in our other regional branches.  Our Vacaville branch was opened in 2006.  Our newest branch in Livermore opened in January 2008. 

Today, Pacific Service CU is a full service financial institution that offers superior rates, products and service to its geographically diverse membership. The Credit Union has made a controlled evolution from a plain vanilla credit union, which only offered auto and signature loans and basic savings products, to a full service financial institution. Today, members can choose from a wide variety of consumer and real estate loans and a full complement of savings products, including money market, certificates and IRAs.

Pacific Service CU has also emerged as a leader in service delivery methods.  Due to our limited branch structure, we strive to make doing business with us as convenient as possible.  As a result, several services have been added to enhance member access 24-hours a day. BranchLine offers online account access and ExpressLine allows members account access via touch-tone telephone.  And launched in 2008, Online Bill Pay affords members the ability to receive as well as pay bills electronically at one convenient and secure location.  Other service delivery methods include ATM networks and an interactive web site at www.pacificservice.org.  Non-members may apply for membership through our web site.  Existing members can apply for loans and open new accounts through this self-service delivery channel.

Contact: Noelle Fischer-Herbert, Vice President, Corporate Development

(925) 296-6227
n.fischer-herbert@pacificservice.org

P.O. Box 8191

Walnut Creek, CA  94596