Columbia Credit Union (WA) is headquartered in Vancouver and is the 9th largest credit union in the state of Washington. It is also the 188th largest credit union in the nation. It was established in 1952 and as of December of 2022, it had grown to 312 employees and 109,668 members at 13 locations. Columbia Credit Union (WA)'s money market rates are 10X the national average, and it has a B+ health rating.
Field of Membership Restrictions
Membership in Columbia Credit Union is open to those who live or work in the state of Washington or in the Oregon counties of Clackamas, Marion, Multnomah or Washington. Family members of membership-eligible individuals also qualify for membership.
See current membership details
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Overall Great Experiance
I switched to Columbia Credit Union from a mainstream bank several years ago and have been very happy with it. The service is great, and I never have to wait long to talk to anyone, and I never pay any fees for my accounts. Their website has greatly improved recently and so has they're mobile app. Sometimes I have issues linking my account to some e-commerce sites like PayPal and Amazon, but I've always been able to get that resolved by contacting that services customer service. Plus, it feels good to keep my money in the local economy.
Overdraft fees
I had banked with Columbia Credit Union since I was a kid. My dad set up an account for me when I was little and stayed with them after I got my first job. I had always been happy until I accidentally over drafted my account. I am familiar with overdraft fees and since it was my mistake I was fine paying a reasonable fee, but this was not the case. When I checked my statement I realized that they had double charged me an overdraft fee for only one transaction. I though it was a mistake so I called the bank and they refused to refund one of the fees. The overdraft purchase was at a store that ran my debit card as a credit. Which means that I got and over draft fee when the pending transaction went through. Then again when the actual funds were withdrawn. I thought that this was ridiculous. I was so angry after speaking with a bank representative that I drove to the bank, closed all my accounts and switched to a different credit union.
COLUMBIA CU RATES MISTAKEN ON THIS WEBSITE
I called columbia credit union. their cd rates are nowhere near what they seem to be on this website. The website must have old data for them.
Confused Policy, Technologically Backwards
Made an account just to review this bank in the hopes of helping others avoid the hassles of dealing with them. In short form:
-They change the policy with every phone call. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have called them multiple times to check on their policies on wire transfers, and every conversation results in a new or altered policy. They may require something this time that they didn't last time (e.g., you can request to transfer your money out only on the day of the maturity date).
-Their processes are well behind the times. For example, their website has no way for one to send a secure message within the site. Instead, they will communicate only on the phone, meaning that one has to spend a considerable amount of time waiting on the phone (wait times can be over 1 hour!) to ask a simple questions.
-Their fees are much higher than for other banks. I recommend that anyone considering their products thoroughly look over each and every fee that they can (and therefore will) levy at every possible opportunity.
-Their customer service is overall awful. Long wait times on hold, poor coordination within their various teams on policies, poor adoption of technology to triage customer communications, and so forth.
To save from the frustration of dealing with this bank (and the accompanying waste of time and energy), I would take up to a 0.5% interest rate hit on a 6-figure deposit and do my business elsewhere.
Hope this review helps at least one other person in the future avoid doing business with these people.
Hope this helps
Data as of Q4 2022
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| NCUA # | 68186 |
| Year Chartered | 1952 |
| Employees | 312 |
| Primary Regulator | |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 1.12% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 11.94% |
| Annual Interest Income | $70.6MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $2.30B$2.32B |
| Loans | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $1.73B$1.38B |
| Deposits | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $2.06B$2.09B |
| Equity Capital | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $214.4MM$222.9MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $22.5MM$21.3MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $4.6MM$2.9MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $0$0 |
