Northwest Community Credit Union (OR) Unveils Competitive 11-Month CD

For a limited time, Northwest Community Credit Union (NWCU) is offering a competitive 11-month Traditional CD Special (5.00% APY). The minimum opening deposit is $10k of new money, defined as funds coming from an external financial institution. Additional deposit amounts over $10k can be funds from an existing NWCU account.

The Tradition CD Special is also available as IRA CD Special (Traditional and Roth), earning the same APY with the same deposit requirements.

When compared to the other CDs in the NWCU product line, the 11-month Traditional CD Special offers the highest APY, by far. The next-highest rate is only 2.00% APY, offered on the 60-month Traditional CD; at the other end of the product line, the 12-month Traditional CD earns a less than mediocre 1.50% APY.

As stated on the CD Rates page, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

The amount of the early withdrawal penalty is based on the term of your account as follows: terms of 90 days to 11 months - 90 days.

If the account has not yet earned enough interest or if the interest has already been paid, the penalty will be deducted from the principal.

Availability

Headquartered in Eugene, Oregon, Northwest Community Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is community-based, with individuals who live or work in the Oregon counties of Benton, Clackamas, Coos, Crook, Douglas, Deschutes, Jackson, Jefferson, Klamath, Lane, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, or Washington, eligible to join.

Immediate family members of anyone who qualifies to join NWCU are also eligible to join, regardless of where they live. “Immediate family” is defined as grandparent, parent, spouse, child (including step-), grandchild, sibling (including half-), aunt, uncle, or domestic partner.

Members of an SEIU-503 Local (Oregon’s public services and care provider union) also qualify for NWCU membership.

Account Opening

Joining Northwest Community Credit Union can be done online, by phone (800.452.9515), or at any of the 15 Oregon branches located in Albany, Beaverton, Bend, Cottage Grove (2), Eugene (2), Grants Pass, Medford, North Bend, Portland, Roseburg (2), and Springfield (2). Appointments are available and can be scheduled online.

Membership at Northwest Community begins with a $10 deposit in a Regular Share Account.

CDs are not listed on the NWCU online application. A CD Special can be opened at any of the above-mentioned branch locations or over the phone (800.452.9515).

Funding and Other Details

The following information is from a Live Chat.

• Funding – ACH, wire ($25 fee), or check.
• CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – No.
• Dividends – Compounded/credited monthly. “At account opening, you may elect to have accrued interest transferred to another account of yours.”
• Maturing Funds – Automatic transfer to NWCU Regular Share Account, then can be disbursed by ACH, wire ($25 fee), or cashier’s check to address on file.
• Beneficiaries – Unlimited, percentages can be assigned, Social Security numbers are preferred by not required.
• Grace Period –7 calendar days before automatic renewal for a 12-month term.
• Credit Check – Soft pull.

Credit Union Overview

Northwest Community Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 2.03% (excellent) based on September 30, 2022 data. In the past year, NWCU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $67.44 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 4.3%. Please refer to our financial overview of Northwest Community Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 61716) for more details.

Established in 1949 as the Weyerhaeuser Springfield Federal Credit Union, the founding members were six Weyerhaeuser Company employees who “put $50 in a lunchbox to help each other out.” The FOM was exclusive to Weyerhaeuser employees until 2002, when a community charter was adopted, followed by the Northwest Community rebrand. While NWCU is currently Oregon’s eighth largest credit union (nearly 105,000 members and assets in excess of $1.8 billion), NWCU will soon become Oregon’s second largest credit union.

According to a July 15, 2022 Credit Union Times article, a merger is on the horizon.

Another big merger is in the works that would create a credit union with combined assets of $4 billion, 700 employees and 36 branches, and that would serve more than 246,000 members in Oregon and Washington.

On Thursday, the $2.2 billion TwinStar Credit Union in Lacey, Wash., and the $1.8 billion Northwest Community Credit Union in Eugene, Ore., announced plans to merge pending approvals from NWC members and regulators.

NWCU’s Merger Information page lays out a projected timeline for this “collaborative partnership between two financially strong credit unions.”

Our board of directors unanimously voted in favor of the merger in June 2022. The next milestone is regulatory approval, which we expect soon, in the first quarter of 2023. Once our regulators approve, the NWCU members would vote. More information will be coming regarding the details of this vote. It is anticipated the merger would be finalized in early 2023, with systems fully integrated in late 2023 or 2024.

How the 11-Month Traditional CD Special Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available within the FOM and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, only one credit union has a higher rate than offered on Northwest Community Credit Union 11-Month Traditional CD Special. The following table compares the 11-Month Traditional CD Special to the two highest-rate CDs from other credit unions, and the two highest-rate CDs from banks.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 2/17/2023.

To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.