LAFCU History
In 1936, as the Great Depression took hold of the nation, 12 Los Angeles City employees pooled their resources of $60 and formed the Los Angeles City Employees Federal Credit Union. They wanted to create a local credit union to give fellow City employees a safe, low-cost, convenient source to borrow and save money in the midst of a challenging economy.
After getting approval from the federal government to begin operations, the group of employees increased to 18 and formed a Board of Directors, a credit committee, a supervisory committee and a membership committee to govern the credit union. They ran the business with one part-time employee from a room inside Los Angeles City Hall at 200 North Spring Street. Although humble in origin, we quickly became known as one of the best credit unions in Los Angeles.
In 1987, the name changed to Los Angeles Federal Credit Union (LAFCU) to reflect growing credit union membership, which began including immediate family members of City employees and individuals who lived in the same household as a current member.
The initial deposit of $65 from 12 members has grown to over $1.2 billion in assets from 73,000 members, more than 160 credit union employees, and seven branches. Members also have access to thousands of local and nationwide shared branches and CO-OP ATMs.
Today, anyone residing in the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan area is eligible to open an account at LAFCU by either working for the City of Los Angeles, or after making a minimum donation to the Los Angeles Charitable Association (LACA). You can join LAFCU through LACA if you live in the “Greater Los Angeles, California Metropolitan Area" (the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside, or San Bernardino).
From its early beginnings to today, LAFCU has remained a strong, secure financial institution. In addition to serving the financial needs of our members, we are also committed to giving back to the community through the Los Angeles Charitable Association, Inc. (LACA), a 501(c)3 nonprofit charity. Established in 2006, LACA supports selected nonprofits through charitable giving and volunteerism.