P1FCU 18-Month Certificate Continues To Be Competitive

It’s been almost two years since I last wrote about Idaho-based P1FCU. At that time, P1FCU had been offering all-time high rates on its Share Certificates for about a year. Those rates started to tumble in late 2019, finally stabilizing in October 2020. While P1FCU’s long-term Share Certificates had been the most competitive, the 18-month Share Certificate (0.80% APY) currently offers the most competitive rate. The minimum opening deposit is $500, with no stated balance cap.

The Share Certificate is also available as an IRA Certificate (Traditional and Roth), earning the same APY with the same deposit requirements.

As stated in P1FCU’s Truth-in-Savings disclosure, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

For certificates 1 year or greater the amount of
the early withdrawal penalty is 180 days’ dividends.

Excess Share Insurance

In addition to the NCUA insurance coverage on funds up to $250k, P1FCU also provides insurance on funds up to an additional $250k through the Excess Share Insurance Corporation.

Additionally, your board of directors has chosen to provide up to an additional $250,000 of savings protection to each qualifying account through ESI. ESI's Excess Share Insurance Coverage applies to any credit union account currently subject to the maximum level of $250,000 in coverage provided by NCUA.

Availability

Headquartered in Lewiston, Idaho, P1FCU’s field of membership (FOM) is residency-based and includes portions of Idaho and Oregon, and all of Washington state.

Idaho: “All employee, employers, students, and retirees” (basically all residents) of the Idaho counties of Ada, Adams, Benewah, Boise, Bonner, Boundary, Canyon, Clearwater, Gem, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, Owyhee, Payette, Shoshone, Washington, or Valley are eligible to join.

Oregon: Individuals who live or work in the Oregon counties of Baker, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union, or Wallowa qualify for membership.

Washington: Individuals who live, work, worship, or attend school anywhere in the Washington State are membership eligible.

For all of the above-mentioned locations,

Credit union membership may also include any of the immediate
family of a person who is eligible for membership in the credit union.

Joining P1FCU and/or opening a Share Certificate can be done online, or at any of the 15 Idaho branches located in Athol, Bonners Ferry, Culdesac, Genesee, Grangeville, Hayden, Lewiston (2), Moscow, Orofino, Osburn, Ponderay, Post Falls, Rathdrum, and St. Maries, or the nine Washington branches located in Brewster, Clarkston (2), Cle Elum, Colfax, College Park, Pullman, Spanaway, and Tonasket. Since my last P1FCU blog post, two Oregon branches in Island City and Ontario have been added.

The Regular Savings account ($35 minimum deposit) establishes P1FCU membership and “is your voting share of the Credit Union.”

P1FCU participates in the CO-OP Shared Branch and surcharge-free ATM networks.

CO-OP's nearly 30,000 ATMS and 5,000+ shared branches means you have more
direct, surcharge-free access to your money than most traditional bank customers do.

Credit Union Overview

P1FCU has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 2.30% (excellent) based on March 31, 2021 data. In the past year, P1FCU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $375.71 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 31.65%. Please refer to our financial overview of P1FCU (NCUA Charter # 2734) for more details.

Established in 1938 by 12 employees of Potlatch Forests, Inc., (a leader in sustainable forestry), P1FCU was originally known as Potlatch No 1 Federal Credit Union. While many fledgling credit unions began in less than impressive surroundings, P1FCU didn’t even have a fixed location: the first transactions were conducted out of the trunk of a car (pictured below) and the funds were kept secure in a cigar box.

Membership grew to 353 in the first year of operation; 83 years later, P1FCU has grown to become Idaho’s second largest credit union, with more than 104,000 members and assets in excess of $1.6 billion.

In case you were wondering, according to Wikipedia,

A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by indigenous peoples
of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States.

How the Share Certificate Compares

When compared to the similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com, that require a similar deposit and are available within the FOM, P1FCU's 18-month Share Certificate APY currently ranks second.

The above rates are accurate as of 8/23/2021.

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