Empire federal credit union

Empire Federal Credit Union grows into its new name

SYRACUSE--In 1950, a group of workers in the Syracuse district of New York Telephone Company (now NYNEX) formed a credit union, calling it the Syracuse Telephone Employees Credit Union, for the convenience of the phone company's personnel.

By 1973, under the new name of Empire Tel-Com Federal Credit Union, the group opened its arms to employees, retirees, and family members of other companies which by then were permitted to join the organization. Today, Empire FCU has total assets of $146 million, more than 350 member firms, and some 44,000 individual members.

Credit unions--nonprofit financial cooperatives--exist solely for the benefit of their members. (The board governs voluntarily and without pay.) Savings deposits (shares) pooled together, create funds for members to borrow from at interest rates lower than conventional (for-profit) banks can offer. Profits are not paid out to investors; they are returned to members as better savings returns, lower loan rates, and higher dividends on savings instruments (mortgages, auto loans, brokerage activities) as well as free financial-management services.

Last year, J. Raymond Curtin--former head of strategic planning at OnBank--became president and chief executive officer of the then Empire Tel-Com. Since then, he h been restructuring and extending Empire's customer services. Profitability of course, must be increased in this, as in any other, business. And growth continues to be a concern of the Curtin regime.

In this regard, the credit union' individual membership has grown steadily to its present level through various promotional activities for depositors of all ages. One particularly successful activity has been a growing emphasis on the "Moola Moola" savings club for children. Now with its own newsletter, the club has blossomed from its original kids' membership of 150 to an "Empire family" of 3,000 children (ages 13 and under) today.

This, in turn, led to another notable change, on May 1--to the newest name. "Empire Federal Credit Union better conveys the growth and diversity of our membership," says Curtin. "In addition to the Syracuse offices of NYNEX," he adds, "our corporate membership now includes many other of the largest companies in Central New York," such as AT&T, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Fay's, and Sealright Container.

'The success we have enjoyed so far," Curtin concludes, "is coming from our combination of 'High Tech'

modern electronics, such as Empire's Touch Tone teller, a 24-hour banking service

and 'High Touch'

extended membership services

. And we are now looking to even better customer relations from our home page on the World Wide Web:www.empirecu.org."