Lafayette Federal Credit Union is headquartered in Rockville and is the 9th largest credit union in the state of Maryland. It is also the 359th largest credit union in the nation. It was established in 1935 and as of September of 2021, it had grown to 148 employees and 42,732 members at 8 locations. Lafayette Federal Credit Union's savings rates are 44% higher than the national average, and it boasts an A+ health rating.
Field of Membership Restrictions
Membership in Lafayette Federal Credit Union is open to anyone who joins the Home Ownership Financial Literacy Council ($10 fee). Residents of Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, D.C. who belong to the American Consumer Council (can join through the Credit Union's online application) are eligible to join. Also eligible are those who live or work in the Potomac, Maryland area; live, work, worship, or attend school in Washington, D.C.; or are employed by any of nearly 200 Select Employer Groups.
See current membership details
Related Posts
10/30 - Current Members Only - Lafayette FCU Has Limited-Time 20mo Special CD
10/27 - 20 Month Share Certificate - 2.00% (2.02% APY)
11/2 - 1,85% For 20 Months - Avail Only Nov 10-30 At Easy To Join Credit Union (Existing Members Only)
6/1 - Lafayette FCU 1 Year, 2 Year, 5 Year CD's: 1.61%, 1.71%, 2.02%
5/22 - 5Yr CD Rate Drop From 2.02% To 1.82% APY
4/27 - Lafayette Federal Credit Union Has Nationally Available CDs
3/9 - After Holding The Line Since January, Lafayette CU Slashes Top Rate By 0.5%
1/7 - 3% Club Shrinks As Lafayette Drops To 2.50%
Account Opened Online And Wire Funded In Two Days
* Paid $10 one time fee to join Home Ownership Financial Literacy Council
* ChexSystem instead of normal credit pull
* Uploaded required documents online
* Very helpful CSRs
* Good CD rates
Account Opening And CD's
Opening an account went smoothly, funding CD's with a wire, smoothly. CSR assigned to my account opening has been responsive and diligent in providing documents, POD request fulfilled, etc.
So far, has been a great alternative to place maturing CD's that matured this month. 2nd best to Advancial on rates.
Info On Business Performance Checking Needs To Be Updated
Min deposit is $1000 for the %1 bonus rate.
For eligibility to become a Business Performance account holder, the business must meet at least one of the following criteria: (1) Open a Lafayette Federal Business Credit Card or Line of Credit (2) Use one or more Lafayette Federal Business Service products (Remote Deposit Capture, ACH SmartPay, Paychex Payroll, or FirstData Merchant Services)
https://www.lfcu.org/business/business-banking.aspx
Read Rate Details Carefully
Read the rate details carefully! I am accustomed to rate tiers where if you have at least a minimum amount, you get a higher interest rate, and thought this would be the case at first look. But I fortunately read carefully and want to alert others to do so. No matter your balance, the first 50K of your money is at the bottom tier rate, the next 50K at the next tier rate, etc. and the top rate is only on the amount beyond $250K.
Given that putting in more than $250K goes beyond federal protection limits for an individual account, and more than $500K goes beyond those limits for joint accounts, it may even require a trust account (which they do offer) or going beyond federal protection limits to match the rates of other banks.
No 24/7 Service
I called to check out the knowledge and the service of Lafayette. I was disappointed to find the off standard business hours support was really lacking. After calling twice, I could not even get an answer to the most basic of banking questions.
As is the case, more often than not, high interest rates usually mean the opposite in support.
Stiff EWP Regular And IRA CD Penalties
Interest is paid quarterly. EWP penalties below:
7-month, 90 days of dividends*
1-year, 180 days of dividends
2-year, 270 days of dividends
3-year, 360 days of dividends
4-year, 480 days of dividends
5-year, 600 days of dividends
Penalties for the variable-rate certificates and IRA certificates will be imposed on amounts withdrawn whether earned or not at the rate paid or payable for the term as follows:
18-month, 180 days of dividends
3-year, 360 days of dividends
5-year, 600 days of dividends
Training At The Bank
It would be great if the tellers were trained adequately and soundly. This is not the case--investing in human capital pays in the long run because customers will stay.
Pick Any Other Leaning Firm
I would highly recommend going ANYWHERE else for your financial service needs. This organization is the least customer friendly CU I've ever encountered. They continuously posted payments for different loans to just one loan. You are never able to reach someone on the phone to correct the issues for hours. And when you try to pay off the loans to be rid of them they don't have a same day payoff option without using a wire transfer for additional fees so they can make additional daily interest charges. Do yourself a favor and just consider any other financial institution.
Data as of Q3 2021
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| NCUA # | 619 |
| Year Chartered | 1935 |
| Employees | 148 |
| Primary Regulator | |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 9.47% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 66.38% |
| Annual Interest Income | $31.8MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q3 2021vs Q3 2020 | $1.17B$836.2MM |
| Loans | Q3 2021vs Q3 2020 | $836.4MM$667.7MM |
| Deposits | Q3 2021vs Q3 2020 | $899.4MM$687.4MM |
| Equity Capital | Q3 2021vs Q3 2020 | $162.3MM$69.4MM |
| Secondary Capital | Q3 2021vs Q3 2020 | $7.5MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q3 2021vs Q3 2020 | $11.9MM$8.1MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q3 2021vs Q3 2020 | $5.2MM$7.4MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q3 2021vs Q3 2020 | $0$0 |