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For more than six decades, RBCU has evolved, and the credit union is doing so again this fall, although a few of the longtime members may choose to live in denial. RBCU - RICHFIELD, Minn. - The credit union that got its start serving Richfield school employees in 1957, and now serves more than 23,000 members, is changing its name, again. And for those who take pride in the fact that the R represents Richfield, or that the B represents Bloomington, they’ll soon be hearing references to “My Credit Union.” RBCU announced last week that it is changing its name Nov. 1, part of a strategy to help foster future growth of the credit union. The name is changing, with the intention of extending the credit union’s reach beyond its primary membership base of Bloomington and Richfield, but the mission will remain the same, according to Todd Barduson, RBCU’S vice president of marketing and development. Plenty of ideas were considered before selecting the new name, including names that maintained a prominent R and B, sans the geographic focus on the neighboring cities that have fueled its growth for six decades. The name change was part of a “very deliberate, purposeful analysis,” Barduson said. That analysis included surveys of the membership, which generated a common sentiment. “I love my credit union,” Barduson noted. The RBCU logo, with its signature red dot, is recognizable in both Bloomington and Richfield, and is a common site at community events the credit union sponsors. There are plenty of anecdotes about how members would refer to it as “my credit union” when they would see the logo, according to Karen Hoeppner, the vice president of lending, who has worked at RBCU for 20 years. Times change My Credit Union will be one of several names the organization has been known by since its inception as the Richeld School Employees Credit Union. And those name changes generally reected growth by the organization. The credit union’s rst three decades were far more casual than today’s operations, which includes the Lyndale Avenue headquarters in Bloomington and branch banks in Bloomington and Richeld. The credit union was created to allow saving and lending amongst its members, according to Julie Pribble, the assistant vice president of human resources, who has worked at RBCU for 31 years. The credit union’s records were kept in a shoebox, but the assets were kept at Richeld Bank and Trust, Pribble noted. It was that simple relationship with a local bank that would lead to signicant growth in the decades that followed. Much of RBCU’s growth during its rst 35 years is attributed to Bob Lien, who worked at Richeld Bank and Trust. The home-grown credit union’s success came about through unique circumstances. Lien became a quadriplegic due to life-threatening injuries. The credit union’s board, due to its working relationship with him at Richeld Bank and Trust, asked him to lead the organization, which had outgrown a shoebox stored in a school oce. The credit union’s offer included the stipulation that Lien could work out of his east Richeld home. So the basement of his home became the credit union’s oce in 1966, according to Vicki Paulson, a lending specialist and 33-year RBCU employee. And board meetings were held at his dining room table, she noted. The unusual arrangement worked, although it was a bit perplexing to RBCU newcomers. Hoeppner’s father was a member and took her to the Lien house to get her rst loan. She was in disbelief when her father, a future RBCU board member, stopped in the middle of a residential neighborhood, she recalled. Under Lien, the assets of the credit union grew, and the scope of services expanded. There was no fancy sign on the front of Lien’s home, everyone knew you simply went to the Lien house, entered the back door and went downstairs when you needed to conduct business, Pribble explained. The credit union’s growth was aided by a merger with a city employee credit union in 1986, and the 1990 merger with the Bloomington school district’s credit union. The growth necessitated opening the Richeld branch of RBCU in the spring of 1991, as Lien’s retirement approached, Paulson recalled. As the credit union grew, its name changed, and seemed to get shorter each time. It became the Richeld Schools Credit Union in 1964 and the Richeld Credit Union in 1989. Adding the Bloomington school district’s membership necessitated lengthening the name in 1990, and it became known as the Richeld Bloomington Credit Union. Richeld’s name came rst, to the chagrin of some Bloomington residents, because the Bloomington organization merged into Richeld Credit Union, Hoeppner said. The credit union added membership outside of Hennepin County at the end of 1997, as the Our Own Hardware Credit Union in Burnsville merged with RBCU. The name was ocially shortened to the acronym in April 2010. It was a lot easier to answer the phone using the shorter name, according to Pribble, but “people did not want to let go of Richeld Bloomington Credit Union,” Hoeppner said. Moving forward RBCU is open to all residents of Dakota, Hennepin and Scott counties, and is considering a full state charter, according to Barduson. “That’s how you compete in our industry,” he said. When and how that growth commences is still being determined. The credit union is governed by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, and there are regulations stipulating how credit unions may grow. But there is also uncertainty as to what the future of banking will require of credit unions, as the coronavirus pandemic has changed consumer behavior. Members are taking advantage of virtual services at a greater rate since the pandemic, Barduson explained. The name change is not the result of a merger with another credit union. The plan is to continue to maintain the local connection with Bloomington and Richeld, with the same management and board of directors, Barduson noted. My Credit Union will also have a new, charitable foundation that will continue RBCU’s tradition of sponsoring a variety of activities in the community, according to Barduson. “We have no intention of stepping away from that commitment,” he said.
For more than six decades, RBCU has evolved, and the credit union is doing so again this fall, although a few of the longtime members may choose to live in denial.
RBCU - RICHFIELD, Minn. - The credit union that got its start serving Richfield school employees in 1957, and now serves more than 23,000 members, is changing its name, again. And for those who take pride in the fact that the R represents Richfield, or that the B represents Bloomington, they’ll soon be hearing references to “My Credit Union.”
RBCU announced last week that it is changing its name Nov. 1, part of a strategy to help foster future growth of the credit union. The name is changing, with the intention of extending the credit union’s reach beyond its primary membership base of Bloomington and Richfield, but the mission will remain the same, according to Todd Barduson, RBCU’S vice president of marketing and development.
Plenty of ideas were considered before selecting the new name, including names that maintained a prominent R and B, sans the geographic focus on the neighboring cities that have fueled its growth for six decades. The name change was part of a “very deliberate, purposeful analysis,” Barduson said.
That analysis included surveys of the membership, which generated a common sentiment. “I love my credit union,” Barduson noted.
The RBCU logo, with its signature red dot, is recognizable in both Bloomington and Richfield, and is a common site at community events the credit union sponsors. There are plenty of anecdotes about how members would refer to it as “my credit union” when they would see the logo, according to Karen Hoeppner, the vice president of lending, who has worked at RBCU for 20 years.
Times change
My Credit Union will be one of several names the organization has been known by since its inception as the Richeld School Employees Credit Union. And those name changes generally reected growth by the organization. The credit union’s rst three decades were far more casual than today’s operations, which includes the Lyndale Avenue headquarters in Bloomington and branch banks in Bloomington and Richeld.
The credit union was created to allow saving and lending amongst its members, according to Julie Pribble, the assistant vice president of human resources, who has worked at RBCU for 31 years.
The credit union’s records were kept in a shoebox, but the assets were kept at Richeld Bank and Trust, Pribble noted.
It was that simple relationship with a local bank that would lead to signicant growth in the decades that followed.
Much of RBCU’s growth during its rst 35 years is attributed to Bob Lien, who worked at Richeld Bank and Trust. The home-grown credit union’s success came about through unique circumstances.
Lien became a quadriplegic due to life-threatening injuries. The credit union’s board, due to its working relationship with him at Richeld Bank and Trust, asked him to lead the organization, which had outgrown a shoebox stored in a school oce. The credit union’s offer included the stipulation that Lien could work out of his east Richeld home. So the basement of his home became the credit union’s oce in 1966, according to Vicki Paulson, a lending specialist and 33-year RBCU employee. And board meetings were held at his dining room table, she noted.
The unusual arrangement worked, although it was a bit perplexing to RBCU newcomers. Hoeppner’s father was a member and took her to the Lien house to get her rst loan. She was in disbelief when her father, a future RBCU board member, stopped in the middle of a residential neighborhood, she recalled.
Under Lien, the assets of the credit union grew, and the scope of services expanded. There was no fancy sign on the front of Lien’s home, everyone knew you simply went to the Lien house, entered the back door and went downstairs when you needed to conduct business, Pribble explained.
The credit union’s growth was aided by a merger with a city employee credit union in 1986, and the 1990 merger with the Bloomington school district’s credit union. The growth necessitated opening the Richeld branch of RBCU in the spring of 1991, as Lien’s retirement approached, Paulson recalled.
As the credit union grew, its name changed, and seemed to get shorter each time. It became the Richeld Schools Credit Union in 1964 and the Richeld Credit Union in 1989. Adding the Bloomington school district’s membership necessitated lengthening the name in 1990, and it became known as the Richeld Bloomington Credit Union. Richeld’s name came rst, to the chagrin of some Bloomington residents, because the Bloomington organization merged into Richeld Credit Union, Hoeppner said.
The credit union added membership outside of Hennepin County at the end of 1997, as the Our Own Hardware Credit Union in Burnsville merged with RBCU. The name was ocially shortened to the acronym in April 2010. It was a lot easier to answer the phone using the shorter name, according to Pribble, but “people did not want to let go of Richeld Bloomington Credit Union,” Hoeppner said.
Moving forward RBCU is open to all residents of Dakota, Hennepin and Scott counties, and is considering a full state charter, according to Barduson. “That’s how you compete in our industry,” he said. When and how that growth commences is still being determined.
The credit union is governed by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, and there are regulations stipulating how credit unions may grow. But there is also uncertainty as to what the future of banking will require of credit unions, as the coronavirus pandemic has changed consumer behavior. Members are taking advantage of virtual services at a greater rate since the pandemic, Barduson explained.
The name change is not the result of a merger with another credit union. The plan is to continue to maintain the local connection with Bloomington and Richeld, with the same management and board of directors, Barduson noted. My Credit Union will also have a new, charitable foundation that will continue RBCU’s tradition of sponsoring a variety of activities in the community, according to Barduson. “We have no intention of stepping away from that commitment,” he said.