Oregon Community Credit Union is headquartered in Eugene and is the 2nd largest credit union in the state of Oregon. It is also the 124th largest credit union in the nation. It was established in 1981 and as of June of 2023, it had grown to 571 employees and 268,722 members at 16 locations. Oregon Community Credit Union's savings rates are 10X the national average, and it has a B+ health rating.
Membership in Oregon Community Credit Union is open to the following to individuals (and their immediate family) who live or work anywhere in Washington State or in the Oregon counties of Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Coos, Crook, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Gilliam, Hood River, Jackson, Jefferson, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Morrow, Multnomah, Polk, Sherman, Tillamook, Wasco, Washington, Wheeler, or Yamhill. Employees/students of Oregon University and members of the Oregon University Alumni Association also qualify for membership, as do employees of Bi-Mart and the State of Oregon employees.
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The people in the branches remain the same. It is nice to have a company that keeps its employees for a while, unlike many big name banks. I always feel welcomed, and the workers are very efficient and effective.
This bank essential began as a bank for employees of the University of Oregon. But with liberal laws they are open to just about anyone. The location is my most important consideration. Plus I prefer Credit Unions. They are much more accommodating than regular mega-banks. My branch is in a cramped little parking available lot mall. The lines can be long and frustrating. That is why I am so thankful for on-line banking. Their web site is efficient and is easy to use. Outside of using the ATM I use on-line banking for everything. There is no checking fees, just minimum balance which is under $100. Another nice thing about credit unions is the ATM system is hooked together with other credit unions so there is no outrageous fees to draw out cash. The tellers are really bad here. To save money the bank hires recent high school graduates. They can be immature and condescending. I have had several serious money errors at the physical location. Once I was buying a car. I went in to get cash. I asked for hundreds. They said she did not have hundreds, go back in line and use another teller. I did, and the other teller said the same thing. Finally on the third teller I was angry, but said nothing and took a stack of fifties. Then the next day I looked at my account on-line and they had over-drafted my checkings when I had asked for it done from savings. It took two days for a manger to clear that mess up. This is life in the modern world where physical banks will soon be disappearing I suppose!
My local bank started as a membership bank for employees of a local university. They started as a small bank on the campus. Today it has grown a significant amount. I believe it has nine branches in the city. It seems very popular with long lines inside the branches as well as the drive-up service windows. My biggest complaint is the tellers. Almost all are very young, and I assume underpaid. Many times I have dealings where the teller tells me to go back in line and approach another teller who would be better suited. This leaves me fuming because the teller should have consulted her manager on the best way to approach the situation. Other times the tellers seem very green and unprofessional. Once I asked for five dollars in quarters. The teller snidely said why don't you just get a ten dollar roll of quarters?, that would be easier. I find the condescending attitude barely tolerable sometimes. Another time I was buying a car, and went inside to procure cash. I ask for one hundred dollar bills. The teller told me she did not have one hundred dollar bills I said please go get some. But she made me go back in line to see another teller who should have one hundred dollar bills! I finally had enough and asked to see the manager. Believe it or not the manger said they where short on one hundred dollar bills, and I would have to take fifties or drive too another branch. Grrgh.
OCCU has provided reasonable rates for dealing with checking and savings. I have several accounts with them and my HELOC is tied to my checking for overdraft protection. I have found it easy to use their online apps to manage my account, and logging into MYOCCU is straightforward and not a hassle when it comes to things like resetting your password. The one area I run into trouble with them is their online incompatibility with MINT, which can make managing money more difficult as I sometimes need to login to OCCU to see my account rather than allowing the data to pull from MINT. They are very accommodating when I deposit my checks and I've found them pleasant enough to deal with in person. If a transaction is more complicated than a withdrawal or deposit, I've found the tellers just tell me "they don't do that" rather than going to get a manager to help with the transaction. One time, when trying to transfer money from my OCCU checking to a bank that had a shared banking agreement, they said they couldn't do that, and I had to withdraw the money at the counter and use the ATM.
In today's world with such high customer expectations I realize it is hard to hire and train professional tellers. But this bank really does not take the time to train their tellers at all. I am constantly running into problems that could be easily solved by trained and experienced tellers. For example recently I withdrew a large amount from my savings account to purchase a car (by cash). One teller told me he had no hundreds, I needed to go back in line and try another teller. I did. The next teller told me they had no hundreds either. I told them that was unacceptable for 10 Am in the morning on a Monday. I found out the next day my checking account had been deducted and two checks were overdrawn. It took two days to straighten out. This sort of thing happens all the time. I would change, but the bank is right near my house.
I made the mistake of buying a large $ amount of 5 year CD's @ 3% yld in 2020 without paying attention to the small print: OCCU charges 730 days of interest for early withdrawal on CD's 1 year and greater The penalty is extremely punitive and prevents liquidation to reinvest at today's 5%+ rates. It's my mistake that I failed to do due diligence; I'm posting this for the benefit of others considering OCCU CD's.
The most frustrating process I have ever been though for an auto loan.
They have charged me for not having insurance on my car. while I had insurance on my car. I called them and provided proof of coverage during that time, and they said that there was nothing they could do to reverse the charges.
Next: The online platform is an uncharitable labyrinth. I set up auto pay with my bank and it does not give you the option to make a direct payment.
I had monthly payments going into the "savings" account but not into my loan. I have to wait for my auto payment to go through and then go online and transfer from my savings to my loan...
Next, I tried to fix this, and they started charging my other bank account. Fix right? Nope not at OCCU, they pulled from both of my accounts this month. So now I am paying double monthly car payments because their website was built during the DOT com boom and hasn't been updated since 1992.
I will be refinancing with literally any other institution asap. Worst mistake I could have possibly made when choosing a financial institution. I think a loan shark would have been a more painless process.
DO NOT USE THIS BANK FOR A LOAN!
Overall | |
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NCUA # | 65856 |
Year Chartered | 1981 |
Employees | 571 |
Primary Regulator |
Profit Margin | |
---|---|
Return on Assets - YTD | 0.35% |
Return on Equity - YTD | 3.74% |
Annual Interest Income | $83.1MM |
Assets and Liabilities | ||
---|---|---|
Assets | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $3.50B$3.19B |
Loans | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $3.13B$2.93B |
Deposits | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $2.69B$2.61B |
Equity Capital | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $323.6MM$307.6MM |
Loan Loss Allowance | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $29.7MM$26.0MM |
Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $40.8MM$15.6MM |
Real Estate Owned | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $0$0 |
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* The APY shown varies based on the deposit amount. Expand the listing to see APYs for other deposit amounts.