Mission Statement
Capitol Credit Union exists to provide convenience to its members through a range of quality financial services and products offered at the best possible rates in a professional and personalized manner.
This mission statement, adopted by the Board of Directors in 1998, is known and understood by all CCU employees. The Board and staff realize that the members are the Credit Union’s reason for existence and are committed to embracing and energizing this mission statement.
Annual Report
Forms
Upon request, the following documents relating to Capitol Credit Union’s finances and management are available for review:
- Balance sheet
- Income statement
- Audit summary from most recent
- Board policy regarding access to the articles of incorporation, bylaws, rules, guidelines, board policies, and copies
- IRS Form 990
To receive a copy of any of these documents, please contact us .
History
1950
July 12, 1954 – The Credit Union is chartered as Capitol Chapter Credit Union, operating out of the bottom desk drawer of Mr. E. L. Stryck, a founding member. The field of membership includes members of Capitol Chapter #2 TPEA.
December 1954 – The year ends with 154 Share accounts, over $11,000 in deposits, and 49 loans totaling almost $11,000.
1955 – A 4% dividend is declared at the first Annual Meeting of the Membership and membership eligibility for “immediate family” of members as stated in the by-laws is clarified to include husband, wife, and unmarried children residing at home. Credit Union hours are Monday through Friday, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the first five days of the month.
1959 – Capitol Chapter Credit Union ends the decade with 505 members, $111,000 in Shares, and $108,000 in loans.
1960
December 1960 – The by-laws are changed, no longer requiring membership in the Capitol Chapter #2 TPEA. The field of membership is also changed to include officials and employees of named boards, departments or agencies of the State Government of the State of Texas. To reflect these changes, Capitol Chapter Credit Union becomes Capitol Credit Union.
October 1963 – Capitol Credit Union is allocated a small office in the basement of the Capitol.
February 1964 – The first paid credit union employee is hired.
1967 – Capitol Credit Union crosses the $1 million in assets mark with 2,000 members.
1968 – The hours of operation are changed to 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday to meet the needs of the membership.
January 1969 – Current CCU President Anne Boatright is hired.
May 1969 – Capitol Credit Union switches from a manual passbook system to an outside batch data-processing system and starts producing quarterly statements.
December 1969 – The decade ends with $1,530,439 in assets, $1,417,605 in loans, and a capital-to-asset ratio of 4.18%.
1970
January 1970 – The Board of Directors approves paying semi-annual dividends for the first time and the payment of annual interest rebates.
December 1970 – Capitol Credit Union procures new office facilities in the State Finance Building.
May 1971 – The $2 million in assets mark is passed and there are 3,000 members.
1973 – A full-time manager is hired.
1974 – A full-time, in-house loan officer is hired. Up to this point, the volunteer Credit Committee has been responsible for all loan activity.
May 1978 – The Credit Union is growing at a fast rate and the State can no longer provide available space to accommodate the expansion. A new facility is found and Capitol Credit Union moves to its present Lavaca Street location in downtown Austin.
1978 – Assets have grown to $9 million. CCU installs an on-line computer system, implements a MasterCard program, begins offering 48-month car loans, and converts to paying quarterly dividends.
1978 – 1981 – Beginning in 1978, a time of rising interest rates, Capitol Credit Union experiences difficulties arising from the loan-rate ceiling established by the Texas Credit Union Department. With loan rates capped at 12% by the Texas legislature and the prime rate nearly 20%, it is impossible to continue paying competitive dividends, retain deposits, and ultimately fund loans. Sizable deposits are moving to other financial institutions. To counter this movement of funds, the Board approves offering Certificates of Deposit, originally known as ALL SAVERS certificates, with a $10,000 minimum deposit at the T-Bill rate plus .25% for 26 months to members who are requesting large withdrawals. Capitol Credit Union is over 100% loaned out in 1979 and is forced to suspend the MasterCard program, shorten the term of all loans, and tighten lending guidelines. Assets drop from $9 million in 1978 to $7.3 million in 1980. Since the State Legislature meets every other year, it is not until May 1981 that the Interest Rate Ceiling Bill is signed by the Governor providing state-chartered credit unions the right to charge as much as 18% APR for loans. With the passage of this bill, the Credit Union has the opportunity to recover from the difficulties of the previous three-year period.
1980
1981 – 1983 – Capitol Credit Union provides a larger variety of services than ever before as Sharedraft/Checking accounts, MasterCards, Traveler’s Cheques, Direct Deposit, IRAs and Deferred Compensation accounts (retirement accounts for state employees) are added to the list of Credit Union products available.
June 1984 – Texas Lawyers Credit Union is merged into Capitol Credit Union, thereby expanding the field of membership to include any person licensed by the Texas Bar Association and their staff. Although Texas Lawyers Credit Union’s total assets are less that $1 million and the loan delinquency rate is a very high 13%, this expansion of CCU’s field of membership is proven to be most beneficial in diversifying the Credit Union’s membership base.
March 1985 – State Employees Credit Union, which serves the Houston State Comptroller’s employees, is merged with Capitol Credit Union. As with the Texas Lawyers Credit Union merger, this credit union adds no appreciable reserves or fixed assets to Capitol Credit Union’s balance sheet. State Employees Credit Union members are already eligible for membership in Capitol Credit Union since CCU is the official credit union for the employees of the State Comptroller statewide. This merger, however, forces CCU to examine methods of serving members throughout the state rather than only the greater Austin area.
December 1985 – By year’s end, Capitol Credit Union is offering ATM access from Sharedraft accounts and 60-month new-auto financing.
1987 – The Board of Directors approves a much-needed remodeling project for Capitol Credit Union’s Lavaca office.
September 1987 – Capitol Credit Union devises a written plan to attain a capital-to-asset ratio of 7% within seven years.
November 1988 – The remodeling of the Lavaca office is completed. Throughout the remodeling project it was required that the Credit Union continue to occupy the building. With 4,000 square feet and 18 employees, everyone was shuffled from one corner of the building to another as work progressed. At one point during a rainstorm, members stood in a makeshift teller line protected by curtains of sheet plastic that allowed water from numerous holes in the roof to drain into buckets at the members’ feet. One would expect many problems from such an ordeal, but nary an unkind word was spoken by a member, no account was closed due to this type of inconvenience, and not one member ever begrudged the money spent on the project.
December 1988 – The year ends with 7,633 members, $15.8 million in deposits ($4.9 million in regular Shares and $9.22 million total in Retirement accounts, Certificates of Deposit, and Money Market accounts) and $10 million in loans.
1989 – Capitol Credit Union adds more products to meet the needs of the membership by beginning a referral program for mortgage loans, offering IOLTA accounts for attorneys, and installing PC Carbook, a computer-based information source for new car buyers, in the lobby. By the end of the decade, CCU has 7,715 members, $5.23 million in regular Share deposits, 2,035 Checking accounts, 1,053 Certificate and Retirement accounts totaling $7.24 million, and $11.12 million in loans.
1990
October 1990 – The installation of the Credit Union’s first in-house data processing facility is completed. This conversion allows CCU to further expand services to include Capitol Access, a telephone transaction system. The information, available to all CCU employees via the computer system, also allows for enhanced member service. At the same time of the computer conversion, Capitol Credit Union is completing the merger of Southern Union Gas Credit Union into CCU. This merger increases Capitol Credit Union’s assets by $1.2 million and increases membership by 800. Unlike the previous mergers, the Credit Union has significant reserves, helping Capitol Credit Union on its course to increase the capital-to-asset ratio.
December 1990 – This is a banner year for Capitol Credit Union! Until now, assets had been stagnant at the $16 million mark and membership had declined from 8,575 members in 1985 to 7,715 members in 1989. The year ends with 8,739 regular Share accounts totaling $6.98 million, $19.99 million in total assets, $12.91 million in loans, and a capital-to-asset ratio of 4.47%.
January 1991 – Capitol Credit Union installs an automated telephone system. The system includes a voice mail attendant for members to use when leaving messages for employees and allows the Credit Union to answer incoming calls simultaneously and route each call directly to the employee requested, bypassing a live operator. Initially there are several complaints about having a machine answer the telephone, but with time, usage, and the installation of similar systems at many businesses, members become more accustomed to and accepting of the system.
May 1991 – The Board of Directors approves an addition to the field of membership by expanding the definition of “immediate family” in the by-laws to include all relatives to the second order of consanguinity and affinity. This includes: parents, brothers, sisters, children, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, grandparents and grandchildren related by blood or marriage.
1991 – The Texas Credit Union Department decides that state chartered credit unions in Texas be required to have member deposits insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) rather than by the Texas Share Guarantee Fund. CCU is audited and approved for this insurance in April 1992.
June 1992 – Capitol Credit Union addresses the issue of opening a drive-thru. This is not possible at the Lavaca Street office, so the Credit Union looks at opportunities of sharing a drive-thru with another credit union. Travis County Employees Credit Union located at 11 th Street and IH 35 has four drive-thru lanes, two of which are not used. This location is convenient for CCU members and seems to be the perfect solution. Negotiations with TCECU begin and the lease is signed in July 1992. Capitol Credit Union begins transacting business at this location in August 1992 with thriving success.
1992 – In a continued effort to provide quality service, Capitol Credit Union management locates a survey company to compile an analysis of Credit Union services. A trends survey designed to track the needs and concerns of CCU members is approved and sent to a random sample of 10% of the membership. It is agreed this survey will be done on an annual basis and the results reviewed by the Board and staff.
April 1993 – A new facility is necessary due to state agencies relocating out of the downtown Austin area and the search for a branch location begins. A poll of the members in the Greater Austin area is performed to determine the best location of the branch and the results overwhelming support a North Austin location.
August 1993 – Capitol Credit Union begins Saturday office hours of operation at the Lavaca Street branch.
October 1993 – Capitol Credit Union receives the Commitment Award from the Greater Austin Quality Council at the annual Greater Austin Quality Awards ceremony sponsored by the City of Austin, the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, and the University of Texas. Based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria, the awards recognize local organizations for their practice of quality principles, improving customer satisfaction, and producing quality products.
December 1993 – The goal to reach a capital-to-asset ratio of 7.0% within a seven-year period is achieved a year ahead of schedule, and the capitol-to-asset ratio is 7.05% at year’s end.
February 1994 – Capitol Credit Union’s Northwest Austin branch at 11902-A Burnet Road opens for business. This new location offers safe deposit boxes, four drive-thru lanes, a walk-up ATM, and Saturday office hours.
April 1994 – The Annual Meeting of the Membership is held at the new Northwest Austin branch to positive and uplifting response.
July 1994 – Capitol Credit Union business hours are changed to facilitate weekly staff meetings that begin at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesdays and the Credit Union opening at 10:00 a.m. This meeting time is utilized for staff development and training to better serve members’ needs.
October 1994 – Capitol Credit Union receives the Progress Award from the Greater Austin Quality Council at the annual Greater Austin Quality Awards ceremony.
December 1994 – The year ends with 11,080 members, $26,547,315 in loans, and $30,710,558 in assets. Steady growth during the recent years is highlighted by 19.2% of the total membership affiliated as family members. Research concludes this is the result of “word of mouth” from existing members recommending CCU as a financial institution to their families.
January 1, 1995 – The new Truth in Savings legislation is now in effect. In preparation, literature and compliance changes had been studied and CCU’s computer company had converted to calculations of Annual Percentage Yield. As a result, two different checking accounts are now offered – Basic Checking and Interest Checking.
October 1995 – Capitol Credit Union receives the Significant Merit Award from the Greater Austin Quality Council at the annual Greater Austin Quality Awards ceremony.
1995 – An ATM is installed at the Lavaca branch.
October 1996 – Capitol Credit Union receives the Highest Achievement Award from the Greater Austin Quality Council at the annual Greater Austin Quality Awards ceremony. In receiving this award, CCU joins the ranks of previous winners such as Motorola, Austin Fire Department, IBM, Xerox, DuPont Photomasks, Minco Technology Labs, Texas Instruments, and Hart Graphics.
1996 – The new Value Checking account is introduced, providing members with yet another quality financial product. The year ends with 11,095 members and over $38 million in assets.
April 1997 – A merger is finalized with the Texas Optometric Association Credit Union, which serves members of TOA and their staff as well as TOA staff. This merger adds over $1.5 million in assets and over 600 members to CCU.
1997 – Capitol Credit Union’s website is introduced, providing current and potential members information about CCU services and products, rates, disclosures, and policies. Attached to the website is PC Capitol Access which allows members to perform various real-time account transactions via the Internet.
1998 – Capitol Credit Union continues to grow at a steady rate, ending the year with over $52 million in assets.
1999 – Y2K! Capitol Credit Union concentrates on overcoming the issues predicted to arise with the coming year 2000. The preparations prove to be successful, and 2000 arrives without any problems or interruption of service to members.
Spring 1999 – Capitol Credit Union joins the Credit Union Service Centers network, providing members with branch access to their accounts worldwide. The first Austin Service Center opens in South Austin in June, with the second in Northwest Austin opening in July.
Summer 1999 – Capitol Credit Union’s Visa debit card is introduced. The new card provides members with additional purchasing capability and acceptance beyond that of ATM cards and checks.
2000
March 2000 – PC Capitol BillPayer is made available to members with checking accounts. For $3.95/month (the first three months free), members can pay bills via PC Capitol Access, eliminating the need for writing checks and purchasing stamps. BillPayer will eventually become BillPay and will be a service provided free of charge.
April 2000 – Capitol Credit Union’s team wins First Place in the Austin Corporate Recycling Council’s 3rd Annual Corporate Can Crush held during Ecology Action’s Earth Day 2000 celebration!
May 2000 – If anything, May 2000 was a month that brought much change to CCU! To better serve members, CCU staff was cross-trained to perform any type of member transaction, be it Teller- Member Services- or Loan-related. This allowed each employee to be a Service Specialist, able to fulfill any member financial need!
Also in May, demolition and construction begins at the Downtown branch on Lavaca St. for expansion into space next door previously occupied by the Lyons Matrix Gallery. When completed, the expansion provides twelve Service Specialist stations and six Teller windows to better serve members.
June 2000 – A system upgrade is completed, enhancing the electronic services provided to members.
August 2000 – The South branch at 133 E. Ben White Blvd. officially opens for business! Designed to resemble a “mini-Capitol,” the 2,500 sq. ft., full-service branch includes four drive-thru lanes and a drive-up ATM. Originally slated to open in July, (welcomed) rain delayed the opening by a month.
2000 – The many changes throughout the year prove fruitful, and Capitol Credit Union ends the year with over $71 million in assets.
April 2001 – Capitol Credit Union’s fourth ATM is installed in the new Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.
July 2001 – Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union (RBFCU) begins leasing two drive thru lanes at Capitol Credit Union’s South Austin branch.
2002 – Enhancements to PC Capitol Access provide members with information about their CCU MasterCard and the ability to transfer funds from their CCU Savings and Checking accounts to make payments to their CCU MasterCards.
2002 – Capitol Credit Union makes previously unavailable services such as stock trading, purchasing of mutual funds, and insurance services available to members via Members Financial Services.
2003 – Further enhancements to PC Capitol Access support 128-bit encryption and allow members to images of paid checks. Also, BillPayer is provided free for 12 months upon enrollment.
May 2003 – CCU’s Downtown branch undergoes remodeling to accommodate growth to better serve members.
2003 – Capitol Credit Union’s Board of Directors unanimously approve a Scholarship Program available to CCU members enrolled in high school who will be pursuing a college education. The first scholarships will be awarded for the 2004 Fall semester.
2003 – Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union’s (RBFCU) lease of two drive thru lanes at the South branch expires and RBFCU moves into its new branch a block away. In continuing with CCU’s long-standing commitment to work with other local credit unions, the two drive thru lanes are subsequently leased to University Federal Credit Union (UFCU).
January 2004 – After leasing the property for ten years, Capitol Credit Union officially purchases the Northwest branch!
February 2004 – The Capitol Credit Union Scholarship Committee awards its first two scholarships to graduating high school seniors. The Scholarship Program will eventually grow to offer scholarships for continuing education.
March 2004 – Capitol Credit Union partners with Southwest Business Corp. (SWBC) to provide mortgage services to members.
July 2004 – Members gather to celebrate Capitol Credit Union’s 50th Anniversary at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum!
2004 – Capitol Credit Union ends the year with over $83 million in assets.
February 2005 – Capitol Credit Union begins providing Capitol Check Guard (overdraft privilege) to qualifying checking account members. Also, Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) insurance is first offered.
March 2005 – CCU’s Field of Membership (FOM) is expanded to include anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in Travis County as well as any business located in the County. To accommodate the FOM expansion, the minimum required Share Deposit is reduced from $25.00 to $5.00.
March 2005 – Capitol Credit Union begins providing auto financing services via the newly created Indirect Lending Program.
June 2005 – TermNet services are made available to Capitol Credit Union Business account members, providing these members to accept and process MasterCard and Visa for payment of goods and/or services.
October 2005 – Capitol Credit Union joins the Austin Alliance of ATMs, providing members with access to over 250 ATMs free of transaction fees and surcharges.
March 2006 – Capitol Credit Union begins offering interest-bearing Capitol FREE Checking accounts! Free services included with the Capitol FREE Checking account include free Visa debit card, 250+ free ATMs, unlimited check writing, and free Telephone and PC banking.
April 2006 – Capitol Credit Union begins offering MasterCard gift cards.
April 2006 – Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union (RBFCU) begins leasing two drive thru lanes at Capitol Credit Union’s Northwest Austin branch.
October 2006 – As an enhancement to Capitol FREE Checking accounts, Capitol Credit Union begins providing online BillPay (formerly BillPayer) free of charge.
November 2006 – CCU partners with CUNA Mutual Group to market Long Term Care to CCU members. Plans offered provide comprehensive coverage for skilled, intermediate, custodial, and community-based care for eligible members.
2006 – Capitol Credit Union begins offering financial and home buying seminars.
May 2007 – Capitol Credit Union’s Scholarship Program has been enhanced and is now available for graduating high school seniors attending a 2-4 year accredited institution or trade school.
July 2007 – To accommodate growth, Capitol Credit Union purchases a building in northeast Austin to serve as CCU’s Administration Building.
2007 – Capitol Credit Union ends the year with over $90 million in assets.
March 2008 – Capitol Credit Union holds the 54th Annual Meeting of the Membership at the new Administration Building.
May 2008 – CCU’s Scholarship Program begins offering scholarships for non-high school students/adults continuing their education.
May 2008 – The new Administration Building is dedicated and named the Capitol Credit Union Anne Boatright Administration Building.
August 2008 – Capitol Credit Union milestone – $100 million in assets!
2008 – To better serve members, CCU implements conversions and enhancements to the online and telephone banking platforms, BillPay, and MasterCard and Visa programs.
2009 – To better serve members, Capitol Credit Union begins providing new convenient products and services including MasterCard Travel cards, E-statements, and UChoose Debit Rewards for Visa debit card purchases. Business services are enhanced and the new Visa business debit card is made available. The year ends with over $108 million in assets.
2010
January 2010 – Remodeling begins at the Northwest Austin branch. A ribbon cutting with the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Open House are held in September.
December 2010 – Remodeling begins at the Downtown Austin branch.
August 2011 – Enhancements to online banking are implemented including mobile access, Personal Finance Management, text and email alerts, online wire transfers, and the ability to add accounts from other financial institutions to transact transfers.
September 2011 – Capitol Credit Union implements the Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) Program, eliminating the need for paper titles for auto loans.
September 2011 – In an effort to reach out to and help members affected by wildfires, CCU opens a temporary satellite branch in Greater Texas Federal Credit Union’s (GTFCU) Bastrop branch. Donations for wildfire victims are collected at the branches.
2011 – New ATMs are installed in the Capitol and Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. The year ends with over $117 million in assets.
July 2012 – Capitol Credit Union’s mailing address changes from a post office box downtown to one located steps away from the Administration Building.
November 2012 – Capitol Credit Union’s mobile apps for Apple® and Android™ devices are unveiled and available on iTunes® and Google Play™.
December 2014 – Pierre Cardenas named CEO of Capitol Credit Union.
January 2015 – Upgraded our Online Banking System and enhanced our mobile obligation.
August 2016 – In an effort to allow more access to members of other credit unions through Shared Branching, Capitol Credit Union becomes an Acquirer.
January 2017 – Capitol Credit Union launches its first free rewards checking account product by Kasasa®.
May 2019 - Capitol Credit Union debuts the first Biometric enabled Integrated Teller Machine (ITM) in the United States, at the Lavaca Branch.
