CO-OP Shared Branching Reaches 5,000 Branch Locations Nationwide

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The number of credit union “live teller” branch locations available through the nationwide CO-OP Shared Branching network has reached 5,000, just over three years after reaching 4,000 in February 2010.

“Through the cooperative spirit of credit unions, we have assembled a branch network that is in fact larger and more convenient than all but three national banks”

“Through the cooperative spirit of credit unions, we have assembled a branch network that is in fact larger and more convenient than all but three national banks,” said Stan Hollen, President/CEO, CO-OP Financial Services.

The 5,000 branch locations gives the credit union industry the fourth largest branch network with teller service, trailing only three banks – Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Chase. In fact, the CO-OP Shared Branching network is suddenly not so far behind, as CO-OP’s records show Wells Fargo at 6,382 branches, Bank of America at 5,916 and Chase at 5,833.

Nearly 1,800 credit unions participate in CO-OP Shared Branching, which enables members to enter any branch and conduct their business as if they were at their own credit union. CO-OP estimates that if all 7,000-plus U.S.-based credit unions participated in shared branching, the industry’s network of shared branching locations would total 20,519 branches.

The rapid growth of CO-OP Shared Branching during the past three years accelerated in 2012, following the merger of CO-OP Financial Services and Financial Service Centers Cooperative, Inc. (FSCC), which became effective at the first of last year. A total of 502 branches were added to CO-OP Shared Branching during 2012.

CO-OP Shared Branching is also the only financial services branch network with locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to 5,000 live teller branches, CO-OP Shared Branching includes more than 2,000 self-service locations at Vcom^® kiosks and credit unions nationwide.

For more information, visit www.co-opfs.org. CO-OP Shared Branching locations can be found at: http://co-opsharedbranching.org.

Based in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and founded in 1981, CO-OP Financial Services is the nation’s largest credit union service organization in terms of number of credit unions, assets and members. To learn more visit www.co-opfs.org.