Bellco Credit Union opens in Louisville; offers services to residents as well as groups

Business Report Correspondent

LOUIVILLE — Bellco Credit Union, one of Denver’s largest credit unions, has opened a Louisville-Superior branch, not just for membership groups, but all 28,000 residents in Louisville and Superior.

Additionally, the facility will serve Bellco’s employer groups in this area, including Sun Microsystems, Level 3 Communications and Rock Bottom Restaurants.

The Louisville-Superior area is the first community in which Bellco has opened membership to residents who are not members of specific employer groups. This also is the first time that Bellco has been able to offer membership to residents of a geographical area.

“We went through a process to get that community to be allowed into our field of membership,´ said Phillip Smith, senior vice president of sales and service at Bellco. He said Bellco plans to open other branches to community residents in the future, as well.

Credit unions generally offer open field or limited field of memberships. “It depends on the philosophy of the credit union,” he said.

Bellco has 10 branch locations along with its headquarters at the Denver Tech Center. “It’s a tremendous growth area along U.S. 36,” he said.

Prior to the January opening of this site, the closest Bellco branch for that community was near Westminster Mall, he said. The new facility is at 1156 W. Dillon Road, Unit 1. “We needed to be further north and northwest,” Smith said.

“The Louisville location was the obvious next step for Bellco,´ said Jim Downs, chairman of Bellco. “The Louisville area is experiencing great growth along with an increasing number of large-scale businesses and high-tech companies such as Level 3 and Sun Microsystems. Our telecommunications background fits well with these companies and allows us to better meet their needs,” he said.

While Sun Microsystems joined the credit union a few years ago, Level 3 became a member just in the last year. “We worked on that one for quite a while,” Downs said of Level 3’s decision to join.

Credit unions generally make presentations to employers to bring on new employer groups and selection is made based on convenience, products and service, Downs said. Employers can opt for more than one credit union for their employees.

Qwest Communications employees in Denver, for example, are serviced by both Bellcom and another credit union, he said.

Bellco has 125,000 members primarily in the Denver metro area. It also serves 820 employer groups ranging from small groups of five to 10 employees to giant corporations, according to Downs. Besides Sun and Level 3, Bellco serves AT&T, Lucent Technologies and Corporate Express.

The Louisville branch features two, 24-hour ATMs and an online, 24-hour kiosk. The branch will hire seven employees as tellers and financial specialists.

Bellco was founded 64 years ago as a credit union for Bell Telephone Co. employees. Immediate family members of employees of its employer groups and of existing Bellcom members are eligible to join.

At the end of last year, the company reported assets of $1 billion. “Only about 40 credit unions in the nation have that much in assets,” Smith said.

Bellco has deposits of $876 million and an $855 million loan portfolio. Member services include lower interest rates on loans and higher yields on savings as well as access to Bellco’s network of ATMs without surcharge fees.

Smith said most of Bellco’s growth has occurred during the last 20 years. “We have defined our market presence as the metro area. There’s no need to look outside,” he said.

“We’re focusing on six counties and now going into the Boulder area. Obviously, we want to be logical in our approach and be strategic in where we grow,” he added.

Bellco generally approaches new companies moving into the area and new start-up businesses. “A credit union is one more benefit they can offer their employees,” Smith said.

Bellco employs 225 people. As a cooperative, the money it earns goes back to members in products and services, low rates on loans and quality rates on investment products, Smith said.

Bellco’s core business includes auto loan products, checking accounts, mutual fund services, home loans, and first and second mortgage loans.

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