Self-Help Federal Credit Union is headquartered in Durham and is the 6th largest credit union in the state of North Carolina. It is also the 273rd largest credit union in the nation. It was established in 2008 and as of March of 2020, it had grown to 297 employees and 78,442 members at 29 locations. Self-Help Federal Credit Union has an A health rating.
Field of Membership Restrictions
Membership in Self-Help Federal Credit Union is open to anyone through joining the Center for Community Self-Help ($5 membership fee). Membership is also open to those who live, work, attend school or worship in select areas of Oakland, California and to employees of over 100 Select Employer Groups.
See current membership details
Not Meant For On-Line Usage, Best Only If Local To Branches
I saw the attractive rates and really like the mission of this Credit Union. However, you can really only take advantage of the rates if you are local to their branches. First clue: There is no way to apply on-line; you have to go local or mail in an application (with a $5 donation to be part of the CU affinity). In my case it took almost a month before I was able to open the account! But once you get the account open, you discover they have no ACH transfers to/from another institution in the online banking, so...good luck moving your money in or out from their side. You can push or pull money from another bank/CU to here, but that will not work for me.
Worst Credit Union I Have Dealt With
I was attracted by their high savings rate and later regretted it had I known their incompetent and unprofessional customer service skills. They consistently lost paper work requests and once I forced them to find it in their e-fax database they came back blaming me for filling out the form wrong. And this was 3 weeks after I faxed the form. Like others have said there is no online ACH so good luck with transferring $$. Checks are not free so expect to pay $20. Don't try to close the account with 6 months and you will be penalized. Bottom line there is something else better so don't trap yourself in this small, unreliable & incompetent credit union and you will have to find other means to self-help yourself. Now I finally figured out where their name came from.
Data as of Q1 2020
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| NCUA # | 24802 |
| Year Chartered | 2008 |
| Employees | 297 |
| Primary Regulator | |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.26% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 3.77% |
| Annual Interest Income | $15.9MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q1 2020vs Q1 2019 | $1.25B$1.14B |
| Loans | Q1 2020vs Q1 2019 | $1.02B$974.7MM |
| Deposits | Q1 2020vs Q1 2019 | $930.3MM$844.1MM |
| Equity Capital | Q1 2020vs Q1 2019 | $84.3MM$74.0MM |
| Secondary Capital | Q1 2020vs Q1 2019 | $110.0MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q1 2020vs Q1 2019 | $16.7MM$13.0MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q1 2020vs Q1 2019 | $4.5MM$3.9MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q1 2020vs Q1 2019 | $135.00K$382.00K |
