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South Carolina Federal CU

2175 Credit Union Lane
N. Charleston, SC 29418
Tel. 843-797-8300
Fax. 843-553-7097
www.scfederal.org
License #

General Information

South Carolina Federal Credit Union (S.C. Federal) is one of the 100 largest credit unions in the United States with over $900 million in assets and more than 134,000 members. The credit union has 16 branches and over 50 ATMs throughout Charleston, Columbia and Georgetown. The credit union has experienced phenomenal growth from its beginnings in 1936 when just 14 Charleston Navy Yard employees contributed five dollars each to form the credit union.

Shipyard Roots
When the credit union was first formed in 1936, it was known as Navy Yard Employee Credit Union. In 1960, the credit union changed its name to Charleston Naval Shipyard (CNS) Federal Credit union when the field of membership changed to allow people in the Navy who worked at the Navy yard to join. In 1994, since the credit union had grown and expanded into areas outside Charleston and was planning continued growth, the name was changed to South Carolina Federal Credit Union.

The credit union was first located in Sterrett Hall on the Charleston Naval Shipyard and later moved to Building 209 in 1965. By 1979 the main office was relocated to its current location at 2175 Rivers Ave. in North Charleston. By that time, S.C. Federal had five branches in the Charleston area: the Shipyard branch, the Naval Station branch (later closed and now used by the credit union's Sales Finance Department), the Naval Weapons Station branch, a branch on Highway 17 in West Ashley (later replaced by the branch at 1945 Sam Rittenberg Blvd.), and the main office branch.

Branches and Expansion
The 1980s began a period of rapid expansion for S.C. Federal. In the early 1980s, credit unions were allowed by federal law to open their fields of membership to "unlike groups." (This meant that, for the first time, credit unions did not have to limit their membership to groups who were the same type of organization or industry). This allowed S.C. Federal to bring many more companies and organizations on board. Another factor that contributed to the growth of S.C. Federal during this time was that several smaller credit unions (which were experiencing financial difficulty or could not adequately serve their members) chose to merge with S.C. Federal.

Additional branches opened during the 1980s and 1990s included the Oakbrook Branch (1983); the Summerville Branch (1984); the Goose Creek branch (1987); the Downtown Branch (1987); the East Cooper branch (1989); and a James Island Branch (1995 later relocated in 2001).

Several mergers contributed to S.C. Federal's growth in the Charleston area. In 1983 and 1984, S.C. Federal merged with credit unions in the Charleston area, including Charleston City Employees Credit Union, State Ports Credit Union and the credit union for MUSC employees. Later in 1990, Cameron and Barkley's credit union merged with S.C. Federal.

Mergers also allowed S.C. Federal to expand beyond the Charleston area. In 1993, a merger with Georgetown Steel Credit Union allowed S.C. Federal to move into the Georgetown area. In 1996 S.C. Federal purchased a building at 1701 Highmarket St. and moved that branch to the new location. In 2002, S.C. Federal opened a second Georgetown branch in the Georgetown Plaza shopping center at 1251 N. Fraser St.

Through mergers with Central Credit Union, S.C. Federal acquired a branch temporarily in the Greenville area (operating the branch from 1984 until 1990, when S.C. Federal sold it to Charleston Paper Mill Credit Union) and in the Columbia area in with a branch that was located on Decker Blvd. In 1995 S.C. Federal opened a branch in Columbia at 109 N. 12th St., and moved the Decker Blvd. location to 4617 Forest Drive (1998). In 2002 a third Columbia branch was opened just off Farrow Rd. at 2350 LeGrand Rd.

In August of 2003, S.C. Federal opened a branch in St. Matthews at 611 Harry C. Raysor Dr. South (Hwy. 601). This new branch allowed S.C. Federal to begin serving the newest group eligible for membership at the credit union -- people who live, work, worship, or attend school in Calhoun, Clarendon, and Orangeburg Counties.

This growth over the years has led to the need for additional office space. When the Rivers Avenue building was opened in 1979, it was constructed with the expectation that the credit union would grow to use all of it, and now the entire building is used by the credit union alone with no office space being rented out. In fact, by 2002 the number of employees had increased to the point that the building had become overcrowded. S.C. Federal renovated property near the building, which is called the Rivers Annex.

Leadership
Margaret Walker, the first leader of the credit union, served for 43 years, from the credit union's beginning until her death in 1989. She managed the credit union until 1960, when John Nelson became general manager. He served in that position until 1968, and Bill West, who had served as assistant manager, was promoted to general manager. He served until 1980. Paul Allen then served as president from 1980 until 1992. He was followed by Robert Dargan, the current president and CEO.

Financial Milestones
The credit union began in 1936 with just $70 in assets (as 14 members deposited $35 each) and had reached $50 million in assets in 1977. From the 1980s through today, S.C. Federal has experienced rapid growth, reaching asset sizes of over $115 million in December of 1982, over $389 million in December of 1992 and $850 million in December 2002.

Local Branch / Office Locations

ADDRESS

TELEPHONE NO.

Charleston Area Downtown 140 Bee Street Mt. Pleasant 910 Houston Northcutt Boulevard Goose Creek 82 Bridgetown Road James Island 1317 Folly Road Naval Weapons Station Rivers Avenue 2175 Credit Union Lane Shipyard Corner of Cosgrove & Avenue E West Ashley 1945 Sam Rittenberg Blvd. Mortgage Office 6209 Rivers Avenue North Charleston, SC 29406 Summerville 234 North Main Street Oakbrook 9999 Dorchester Road Georgetown Georgetown Plaza 1251 North Fraser Street 1701 Highmarket Street Columbia Northeast Columbia 2350 LeGrand Road 4617 Forest Drive West Columbia 109 North 12th Street St. Matthews 611 Harry C. Raysor Drive South Branches Opening in 2004 Charleston 2695 Elms Plantation Boulevard Mt. Pleasant 162 Highway 17 North

843-797-8300

FEES RELATED TO EACH LOAN

The following are fees related to a typical $175,000 purchase loan transaction in the South Carolina area, with this company. This does not include points, if any, nor does it include title insurance, local taxes, prepaid interest payments or prepaid escrow payments for home insurance or real estate taxes. A more complete list, tailored to your specific loan transaction, entitled "Good Faith Estimate of Settlement Costs" should be provided to you when you actually apply for a loan. All fees are believed to be accurate, but cannot be guaranteed and are subject to change without notice.

Appraisal	300
Credit Report	14
Application	56
Inspection
Document Prep/Review
Underwriting
Processing
Flood Certification	14
Tax Service	105
Notary
Settlement/Closing
Attorney	350
Recording	60
Survey	300
Messenger/Courier	50
Wire Transfer
Administrative	100
Mortgage Broker Fee
Funding and Review
Payment Processing
Title Ins. (lender's)	406
TOTAL	$1,755

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