Deseret First Credit Union is headquartered in West Valley City and is the 7th largest credit union in the state of Utah. It is also the 407th largest credit union in the nation. It was established in 1955 and as of December of 2024, it had grown to 217 employees and 81,705 members at 12 locations. Deseret First Credit Union's money market rates are 9X the national average, and it has a B+ health rating.
Field of Membership Restrictions
Membership to Deseret First Credit Union is open to those who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and their families, as well as employees of the Church. Membership is also open to select companies and organizations. (Membership requirements are listed in the credit union's online application)
See current membership details
Best Local 2Nd Mortgage Dept. Available
I have had two home equity loans with DFCU. They were fair with the fees associated with closing the loan and the agents I worked with knew the process to get the loan finalized. There was only one glitch in the initial system when first payment was made, but now transfers are predictable and the updated payment screen works well now. DFCU is honest and up front about their business and they have helped me save on loan interest costs. I highly recommend them over any other local Utah CUs.
Been Banking With Them For 4 Years Now
Great credit union, other than the bumpy start on setting up my first initial account due to missed emails it has been great. They really care about the member and try their best to help, I know they are pushing out new items a lot and trying to catch up with some competitors on stuff. Overall I have been impressed with the technology and all that they do. I moved from Mountain America CU and Chase bank to them and they hold up their own. If anyone complains about the tech they use for banking it makes no sense to me since it is the same program and provider that MACU uses, there literally is no difference. Just a common misconception, I had the same thought when I first joined but have been pleasantly surprised. I have moved all of my loans over Auto and Mortgage and CC and had nothing but the best experience on all of those.
Worst Customer Service
Worst customer service. We have a HELOC that increased apparently when the rate change started rising in 2022; what we didn't know b/c we had auto payments set up as a set amount is that we were falling behind, which looks like a late, even though payment was never skipped.
In November, they called, I answered, and within 30 minutes, fixed the issue, not realizing the domino effect the reported "late' would have when trying to obtain a loan for another home we wanted to buy. We had to remove our house from the market and forgo a new home and job opportunity b/c of the reported late.
When we voiced our concerns and tried to work with several departments, they "claim" that they emailed (no emails chain at all - looked in deleted and spam), texted (no texts either) and called, and left VMs, yet I have *no* VM's at all. When we asked them to share the proof of this above, they essentially "ghosted" our request. Yet...I answered the phone when they called in November of 2022 but ignored all other calls?
Dishonest, Sketchy And Awful Customer Service
I’ve banked with Deseret first credit Union for almost 7 years. I don’t know why I haven’t left sooner because they are without a shadow of a doubt the most dishonest and difficult financial institution I have ever worked with. I’ve had multiple fees on my car loan I have had to have fixed that would continue to show up after every few months. It took me going to a much higher up and threatening to sue to get them to officially stop adding it. They’d admit it wasn’t supposed to be there, apologize then a few months later the fees would show up again!
The car loan isn’t the only one. Multiple times on my credit card and my checking account I have had different charges or fees that were wrong. I wish I could write it all but it would take too long.
But overall I realized the bank didn’t make me feel that my finances were secure. Not because it seemed unsecure from the outside but from the inside.
They also have awful customer service that is extremely difficult to get ahold of and when they answer it’s a call center. You can’t talk to anyone at the branch and so the typical call center stereotype is filled with people who don’t care too much to figure things out for you.
I have 3 others I know who have had similar issues with them. After 2 car loans, a credit card, a personal loan and a checking and savings account with them, I am officially leaving. It’s taking me far too long but it’s been hard with having so much of my bills with them.
For an institution that is supposed to be based off of serving the LDS community, they sure are not very ethical. I will never recommend them to anyone and I am glad to leave them and go back to an old bank of mine that never made me feel nervous about whether they were being honest with me or not.
I am filing a complaint with the district attorneys office and hoping to have them looked into. It’s long overdue
Data as of Q4 2024
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| NCUA # | 24708 |
| Year Chartered | 1955 |
| Employees | 217 |
| Primary Regulator | |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.77% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 9.52% |
| Annual Interest Income | $59.1MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q4 2024vs Q4 2023 | $1.14B$1.06B |
| Loans | Q4 2024vs Q4 2023 | $992.5MM$916.5MM |
| Deposits | Q4 2024vs Q4 2023 | $1.03B$964.7MM |
| Equity Capital | Q4 2024vs Q4 2023 | $91.1MM$82.5MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q4 2024vs Q4 2023 | $4.4MM$4.1MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q4 2024vs Q4 2023 | $6.6MM$4.3MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q4 2024vs Q4 2023 | $0$0 |
