Established in 1935, Summit Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative. Summit holds $7.3 billion in assets and has more than 261,100 members and 920 employees across 60 locations throughout Wisconsin. Since 2002, Kim Sponem has been CEO & President of Summit Credit Union, formerly known as CUNA Credit Union/Great Wisconsin Credit Union.
Summit was named to Forbes list of America’s Best-In-State Credit Unions 2024. Summit was also recognized in 2024 for continued excellence in employee engagement as a Top Workplace USA by USA Today for the fourth consecutive year and a Top Workplace in the Madison area by the Wisconsin State Journal the fifth year in a row. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel named Summit a Top Workplace in Milwaukee in both 2023 and 2024. Additionally, and representative of its focus on financial education, Summit received the Governor’s Financial Literacy Award in 2010, 2014, and 2016 and the Governor’s Financial Literacy Award – Legacy in 2019.
Kim Sponem, CEO & President of Summit Credit Union, has been a credit union CEO for more than 20 years, including the top job when Summit was named Great Wisconsin Credit Union and, originally, CUNA Credit Union. [1]
CUNA, Inc. founded CUNA Credit Union, known today as Summit Credit Union, on September 17, 1935 in Madison, Wisconsin to serve the credit union movement and anyone else who was in need of credit union services. This unique charter was granted by the Wisconsin bank commissioner in 1935. [2]
The first location was in its sponsor company, in the Filene House. Credit union movement pioneers and organizers Thomas Doig and Roy Bergengren were early advocates for the formation of CUNA Credit Union to ensure all people everywhere had access to credit union membership. Back then, employees of a credit union could not borrow from their credit union. The credit union was there to ensure that employees could still receive their product needs from a credit union and that state leagues across the country had access to a credit union for their banking needs. [3]
Shortly after establishing this credit union, CUNA Mutual was formed to provide insurances and other services to credit unions and became one of its sponsor groups in addition to CUNA, Inc. The credit union expanded to other credit union entities as they were created, including World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), Credit Union Executive Society (CUES) and Filene and expanded to serve anyone, anywhere.
In 2005, CUNA Credit Union changed its name to Great Wisconsin Credit Union (GWCU) and then, in 2008, changed its name to Summit Credit Union, merging in the former Summit Credit Union, formerly State Capitol Employees Credit Union, maintaining CUNA/Great Wisconsin’s original charter and field of membership. [4] [5] [6] [7]
The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad is a Class II regional railroad in Southern Wisconsin and Northeastern Illinois currently operated by Watco. It operates former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) trackage, mostly acquired by the state of Wisconsin in the 1980s.
Scott Kevin Walker is an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Wisconsin from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Milwaukee County executive from 2002 to 2010.
Navy Federal Credit Union is an American global credit union headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, chartered and regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Navy Federal is the largest natural member credit union in the United States, both in asset size and in membership. As of July 2024, Navy Federal has US $177 billion in assets and has 13.8 million members.
The Credit Union National Association, commonly known as CUNA, was a national trade association for both state- and federally chartered credit unions located in the United States. CUNA provided member credit unions with trade association services, such as lobbying, regulatory advocacy, professional development, and professional services management. The organization operated out of its headquarters in Washington, D.C., and an operations center in Madison, Wisconsin. CUNA's president and chief executive officer Jim Nussle led the organization since September 2014 and now leads its successor organization, America's Credit Unions.
MGIC Investment Corporation NYSE: MTG ("MGIC") is a provider of private mortgage insurance in the United States. The company is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Edward Albert Filene was an American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known for building the Filene's department store chain and for his decisive role in pioneering credit unions across the United States.
The University of Wisconsin Credit Union is a credit union headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. As of 2021, UW Credit Union has more than 300,000 members with $4.8 billion in assets and is the third largest credit union in the state of Wisconsin. UW Credit Union currently operates 31 full-service branches throughout the Madison and Milwaukee metropolitan areas, as well as single locations at or near UW System campuses in Whitewater, Green Bay, La Crosse, Oshkosh, and Stevens Point. It also provides over 100 surcharge-free ATMs in Wisconsin. UW Credit Union provides an array of financial services including educational loans, mortgages, consumer loans, checking, savings and investment products, credit and debit cards. UW Credit Union also offers digital banking services such as Web Branch, Mobile App and Wallet, Zelle, mobile deposit, online bill payment, automated phone banking system, and money transfers.
Associated Banc-Corp is a U.S. regional bank holding company providing retail banking, commercial banking, commercial real estate lending, private banking and specialized financial services. Headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Associated is a Midwest bank with from more than 220 banking locations serving more than 100 communities throughout Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. The company also operates loan production offices in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio and Texas.
TruStage Financial Group, Inc., formerly known as CUNA Mutual Group, is a mutual insurance company that provides financial services to cooperatives, credit unions, their members, and other customers worldwide. TruStage Financial Group sells commercial and consumer insurance and protection products. TruStage Financial Group provides retirement plan services to small businesses and credit union employees. The Madison, Wisconsin-based company also provides auto, home, life and loan protection products to credit union members through its TruStage brand.
The Filene Research Institute is an American credit union and consumer finance think tank headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.
Credit unions in the United States served 100 million members, comprising 43.7% of the economically active population, in 2014. U.S. credit unions are not-for-profit, cooperative, tax-exempt organizations. The clients of the credit unions become partners of the financial institution and their presence focuses in certain neighborhoods because they center their services in one specific community. As of March 2020, the largest American credit union was Navy Federal Credit Union, serving U.S. Department of Defense employees, contractors, and families of servicepeople, with over $125 billion in assets and over 9.1 million members. Total credit union assets in the U.S. reached $1 trillion as of March 2012. Approximately 236,000 people were directly employed by credit unions per data derived from the 2012 National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Credit Union Directory. As of 2019, there were 5,236 federally insured credit unions with 120.4 million members, and deposits of $1.22 trillion.
ESL Federal Credit Union is a full-service financial institution with headquarters in Rochester, New York. The locally owned financial institution employs more than 870 people in Rochester, New York, and includes more than 376,000 members and 11,800 businesses. The company has now appeared on the Great Place to Work Best Small and Medium Workplaces for 10 years. Access to the credit union includes 22 branch locations and more than 40 ATM locations, locally based telephone and internet chat centers, and online and mobile banking channels. Membership in ESL is open to employees of Eastman Kodak, members of the George Eastman House, and residents of Rochester, among others.
DFCU Financial is a state-chartered credit union headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, regulated by Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). DFCU Financial is one of Michigan's largest credit unions. As of October 2021, DFCU Financial had approximately $6 billion in assets, 232,000 members, and 27 branches in Metro Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Lansing.
Great Wisconsin Credit Union, formerly known as CUNA Credit Union until 2005, was a credit union that was founded on September 17, 1935, in Madison, Wisconsin. The credit union had been started to serve employees of the CUNA Mutual Group and the local community. By 2007, Great Wisconsin Credit Union had approximately 46,000 members and 428 million dollars in assets. As of 2008, the credit union had a total of nine locations throughout Wisconsin. The credit union became defunct in 2008, after a merger with Summit Credit Union.
Northwestern Mutual is an American financial services mutual organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The financial security company provides consultation on wealth and asset income protection, education planning, retirement planning, investment advisory services, Financial Planning trust and private client services, estate planning and business planning. Its products include life insurance, permanent life insurance, disability income, and long-term care insurance; annuities; investments; and investment advisory products and services. Northwestern Mutual ranked No. 90 on the 2021 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue and is in the top 30 by assets held. The firm distributes a portion of its earnings to eligible policyholders as annual dividends.
Center on Business and Poverty (COBAP) is a non-profit organization that supports writing and community projects related to employers which participate in social enterprise or employee ownership. While it was an initiative of The College of Letters & Science at the University of Wisconsin Madison, it is now a private non-profit organization. John Hoffmire, who holds the Carmen Porco Chair in Sustainable Business at the Center on Business and Poverty, founded the organization in 2004 and serves as the current director. By arranging projects through employers, the program helps low-income individuals and families to improve their financial situations through various means.
The 2018 Wisconsin gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018. It occurred concurrently with a Senate election in the state, elections to the state's U.S. House seats, and various other elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Scott Walker sought re-election to a third term, and was challenged by Democratic candidate and then-Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers, as well as Libertarian Phil Anderson and independent Maggie Turnbull. Evers, along with his running mate Mandela Barnes, managed to defeat Walker and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch in a closely fought and widely watched race, ending the state's Republican trifecta.
AmeriCU Credit Union (AmeriCU) is a New York State Chartered credit union headquartered in Rome, New York, originally founded in 1950 as Griffiss Employees Credit Union. As of 2020, AmeriCU had more than 140,000 members and $2 billion in assets, and was the 13th largest credit union in New York.
Ascend Federal Credit Union is a federally chartered credit union based in Tullahoma, Tennessee. Ascend is regulated and insured through the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).
Robins Financial Credit Union is a credit union based in Warner Robins, Georgia. Robins Financial is the 2nd largest credit union in the state of Georgia. As of March 31, 2022, Robins Financial has over 243,000 members and over $4 billion in assets. Robins Financial operates 22 branch locations throughout the state of Georgia.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)