DFCU Financial, Michigan’s largest credit union, offers a full range of financial services -- from basic checking and insured money market accounts, to mortgages andconsumer loans and long-term financial planning.
DFCU Financial was founded in February 1950 when a group of Ford engineering employees were granted a credit union charter from the federal government to serve Ford Motor Company Engineering and Styling employees working in Dearborn, Michigan. Since that modest beginning, the credit union has expanded significantly.
Growing Over the Years
To reflect our growing and diverse membership, we have modified our name over the years. What began as Ford Engineering Employees Federal Credit Union in 1950, became Ford Dearborn Federal Credit Union in 1954, then Dearborn Federal Credit Union in 1960. In 2003, our name was changed to DFCU Financial as we prepared to expand our branch footprint beyond Dearborn and Livonia. The growth and disbursement of our member base plus the desire to make doing business with DFCU Financial easy has driven our branch expansion. As a result, we have members living all over Michigan and all over the globe.
In 2009, DFCU Financial expanded beyond the metropolitan Detroit area with the merger of CapCom Credit Union with offices in Grand Rapids, Greenville and Lansing. CapCom’s roots reach back to the 1930’s when a small group of Lansing firemen created a credit union to serve all municipal employees. The Municipal Employees Credit Union evolved over the years through mergers, the most recent being the merger of Citizens Choice, Spartan Stores, Allied Builders & Contractors and Capital Community Credit Union/LSI Financial to become what was CapCom Credit Union. The merger of CapCom has allowed DFCU Financial to diversify geographically and offer our benefits of membership to more members across the state.
Safe, Sound and Healthy
Today, DFCU Financial is the largest credit union in Michigan and is among the largest and best managed in the United States. We have more than $2.5 billion in assets, serve more than 200,000 members and have more than 500 employees contributing to our success.
DFCU Financial is known nationally as one of the most efficiently operated credit unions in the country. Our continued strong financial performance has placed us in the top 10 in the nation among peer credit unions for Return on Assets and Return on Equity for the last eight years. In 2008, DFCU Financial placed first in the nation for Return on Assets and second in the nation for Return on Equity among peer credit unions.
Outstanding financial performance since 2006 has allowed DFCU Financial to declare a special patronage dividend to members of more than $17 million each year. This continues to be the largest special dividend in the history of credit unions. To date, more than $50 million in special patronage dividends have been distributed to members.
Leading to Success
The DFCU Financial Board of Directors is comprised of representatives from various industries and backgrounds who have the proven skill and knowledge to govern the organization. The Chairman of the Board of Directors is Dr. Robert Chapman. On the management side, DFCU Financial is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Shobe.
Mark Shobe joined DFCU Financial as president and chief executive officer in July 2000 bringing with him more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. Under Shobe’s leadership, the $2.5 billion DFCU Financial has grown more than 109% in assets and 159% in net income since 2000.
Shobe’s vision and leadership have created a level of pride and satisfaction among employees that has resulted in DFCU Financial earning a number of accolades including being named one of Metropolitan Detroit’s 101 Best & Brightest Companies to work for five years running, from 2004 to 2008; a Michigan Economic Bright Spot for 2008 and 2009, a Best of Michigan Business for 2008; and to the Detroit Free Press “Top Workplaces” list for 2008.
Investing in Our Membership
Our world and our membership looks vastly different than it used to when the credit union began with the intent of serving engineers from Ford Motor Company. Today the membership we serve is large and diverse.
As membership has grown over the last decades, DFCU Financial has been fortunate to have the resources and foresight to implement changes so that we can continue to provide highly personalized service to our entire membership. Over the last several years, we’ve added value to membership at DFCU Financial in the following ways:
Looking to the future, we will continue to seek ways to add value to membership at DFCU Financial. When making all major decisions -- whether it’s building a new branch, or introducing a new product, our decision-making is driven by what is in the best interest of the membership.
If you are already a member with DFCU Financial, we thank you for entrusting us with your finances. If you’re looking to become a member, we hope you will consider meeting with one of our representatives to discover why DFCU Financial is the best kind of belonging.