Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union (RBFCU) is a credit union headquartered in Live Oak, Texas, chartered and regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration. RBFCU serves more than 500,000 members from a network of full-service branch locations in Texas, and has more than $6 billion in assets as of July 2014. It is one of the largest credit unions in the United States; as of the end of 2013, it was the second largest credit union in Texas, and the 14th largest federally chartered "natural person" credit union and 15th largest federally insured "natural person" credit union, based on total assets.
History
RBFCU was founded September 1952 with nine members and $45 in deposits. The charter was approved on October 6, 1952 by the Bureau of Federal Credit Unions (the Federal governing body at the time). In August 1959, the field of membership was amended to include Brooks Air Force Base and on October 25, 1961, the credit union name changed from Randolph Federal Credit Union to Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union.
In 1995, the credit union merged with an Austin-based institution, Central Texas Catholic Credit Union. Following this addition, the credit union established a presence in the Austin community, including opening a retail location in an Austin-area grocery.
Membership and organization
RBFCU’s field of membership, as defined by the National Credit Union Administration, is select-group based, which means that membership is limited to individuals sharing a common bond. RBFCU currently offers membership to more than 2,000 select groups. Consumers can qualify for membership through a variety of ways, including where they live, work, worship or attend school.
As a credit union, RBFCU is a not-for-profit financial cooperative. It is owned by its members and governed by a volunteer board of directors, elected from its membership. RBFCU also operates several credit union service organizations. RBFCU has a history of strong military associations stemming from their roots serving the employees and Active Duty Air Force employees of Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
Employees
RBFCU employs more than 1,600 people at its corporate headquarters in Live Oak, Texas and throughout the South Central Texas area, including credit union locations in San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas. RBFCU has been ranked among the Texas Monthly “Best Companies to Work for in Texas†for, and has also been listed as a San Antonio Express-News’ Top Workplace and as one of the San Antonio Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work.â€
Services
RBFCU offers many products and services in common with other financial institutions, including savings accounts, checking accounts, loan products and mobile technology. RBFCU was among the first financial institutions in the United States to release a remote deposit platform that allowed members to make deposits from their mobile devices.
RBFCU offers a cash back debit card program, which pays 10 cents cash back each time a user makes a purchase with the card. In 2011, the credit union received media attention for temporarily increasing debit card rewards to 15 cents per transaction.
Competition
Several other financial services companies specializes in serving parts of the military. The credit union competes with other military credit unions, like Pentagon Federal Credit Union and NavyArmy Federal Credit Union (which only serves parts of Texas), as well as with some large banks including USAA.
Corporate headquarters
In 2012, RBFCU completed the construction of an addition to its new corporate headquarters, including the Randy M. Smith CUseum, which provides recountings of the credit union’s history and heritage through multiple media, including video, multimedia, art and sculpture.
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