CEFCU is headquartered in Peoria and is the 2nd largest credit union in the state of Illinois. It is also the 31st largest credit union in the nation. It was established in 1937 and as of September of 2020, it had grown to 918 employees and 354,874 members at 28 locations. CEFCU has an A health rating.
Field of Membership Restrictions
Membership in Citizens Equity First Credit Union is open to those who live or work in Knox, Fulton, Logan, Livingston, Macon, McLean, Mason, Marshall, Peoria, Putnam, Sangamon, Stark, Tazewell, or Woodford counties in Illinois, to those who live, worship or work in Contra Costa, Alameda, or Santa Clara Counties in California. Membership is also open to employees or retirees of Caterpiller, Inc., its dealerships and subsidiaries and to other partner companies (membership requirements are listed in the credit union's online application).
See current membership details
Related Posts
2/14/12 - More Publicity on CEFCU's CD Early Withdrawal Penalty Change
1/20/12 - Another Credit Union Increases Early Withdrawal Penalty on Existing CDs
4/28/10 - Top Long-Term CD Rates at CEF Credit Union in IL & CA - Local Only
2/4/10 - Great Place To Put Your Money
12/2/09 - 3.50% 60-Month CD at CEF Credit Union in IL & CA - Local Only
3/10/09 - 3.10% 24-Month CD at CEFCU in California and Illinois
8/9/07 - 5.55% 5-Month CD at an Illinois Credit Union (CEFCU)
8/7/06 - 6.00% 7-Month CD at an Illinois CU (CEFCU)
Great experience at local credit union.
I recently paid off my car loan through CEFCU, my local credit union. Working with CEFCU was easy. My rates were better than any of the big banks and the customer servive was top notch. Not only were fees virtually nonexistant, but I received a dividend as a contributor to their profits. The online portal made it easy to check my loan balance and make payments. When I wanted to make payments in person, it was just as easy. They have several conveniently located locations in my area. The tellers are always courtious and I never seem to have to wait in line. I will definitely consider CEFCU as my first choice for my next car loan.
20 Year Member
I have been a member of CEFCU for over 20 years. I have a checking account and savings account established there. I feel like it took a longer time for CEFCU to advance with the technology required in today's banks, but they have finally come around to providing quality products that have current technology. The ability to also walk into any local branch and talk to a qualified individual about my banking needs is very refreshing in these times of only speaking through technology as well. I have established my teenage son his own accounts there as well to build him a solid banking history and establish good habits.
Good bank but could use a better website.
This bank is pretty reliable and accessible. Every time I try to talk to support they are very nice and help me with my problems fairly quickly. The longest time I actually had to go into the bank was when my debit card was declined at a gas station. I went in for a couple minutes and by the time I got out it was done and I had access to my debit card again. The only problem I have with it is the website is a bit clunky and hard to log in to but once you get past that the website works great.
Cefcu Review
Cefcu has the worst customer service of any bank that we have ever dealt with. We had set up a Cefcu account about 2 years ago to see if we liked it as a secondary account before we transferred some direct deposits over blindly.... it has been nothing but a headache! I think our experiment is over!
For anyone looking for banking...stay away! PNC has been amazing to our family for the last 10 years! Looks like they will be getting another account from us.
Data as of Q3 2020
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| NCUA # | 68448 |
| Year Chartered | 1937 |
| Employees | 918 |
| Primary Regulator | |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 1.14% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 11.85% |
| Annual Interest Income | $172.3MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q3 2020vs Q3 2019 | $6.83B$6.16B |
| Loans | Q3 2020vs Q3 2019 | $4.86B$4.58B |
| Deposits | Q3 2020vs Q3 2019 | $6.03B$5.40B |
| Equity Capital | Q3 2020vs Q3 2019 | $653.9MM$653.2MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q3 2020vs Q3 2019 | $32.4MM$28.9MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q3 2020vs Q3 2019 | $19.6MM$20.5MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q3 2020vs Q3 2019 | $2.4MM$903.00K |
