Poised for ‘Unbelievable Growth’ : Credit Union Gets OK to Expand Operational Area
The Greater Irvine Credit Union says it is poised for “unbelievable growth”--possibly doubling its current $17 million in assets--following government approval to expand its charter to include potentially every company in Orange County.
The credit union, which currently provides services to more than 24,000 employees of 350 companies belonging to the Industrial League of Orange County, has been given the green light to offer its services to any company that is a member of the league.
When the credit union was established by the league nine years ago, the Department of Corporations stipulated that it could serve only employees of companies whose headquarters were situated within a 10-mile radius of John Wayne Airport--the basic area of the league’s member companies.
The league, which now boasts a membership of 700 companies, represents business interests before local, county and state government agencies.
“This is a chance for unbelievable growth,” said Virgil Grizzle, operations manager of the Tustin-based credit union. “We could double our assets just by tapping our existing membership, and not even take on anyone else.” Grizzle said the credit union will begin actively soliciting new corporate members in its expanded area of operations in July.
The GICU serves companies as diverse as Suzuki Motor Co. and Taco Bell and as large as W.R. Grace & Co. “Grace, for example, has more employees in Orange County than we have in the (entire) credit union,” Grizzle added.
Voted Name Change
GICU members voted last month to change the credit union’s name to the Industrial League of Orange County Credit Union to reflect the name of its sponsor.
According to a spokesman for the Industrial League of Orange County in Newport Beach, the Greater Irvine Credit Union was formed because one league member wanted to set up a financial cooperative but was too small to do it on its own.
In order to create a credit union, there must either be what is known as a common bond among the potential membership, or the participants must be geographically related. “At the time the Department of Corporations approved the credit union, it said the industrial (league) was the common bond,” said Todd Nicholson, executive director of the Industrial League of Orange County.
The league, which until four years ago was known as the Greater Irvine Industrial League, changed its name as a result of its expanded countywide membership. Consequently, Nicholson explained, “We have encouraged the credit union to do likewise, once they received approval to enlarge their geographical charter to a countywide area.”
To be eligible to participate in the Industrial League of Orange County Credit Union, the employee must work for a company that is a member of the league. Any company may join the Industrial League, so the potential market for the credit union is “as many companies as the county has,” Grizzle said.
