TVFCU at a glance
› Started: 1936› Assets: More than $1.2 billion› Field of membership: Live, work or worship in 13 counties around Chattanooga› Offices: With the two new Food City locations opening this year, the credit union will have 17 branches› Staff: 360 employees› Members: More than 125,000
Although Chattanooga area banks have closed more than 16 percent of their offices over the past seven years, Chattanooga's biggest credit union continues to branch out.
On Monday, the Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union (TVFCU) will open the first of its new in-store branches at the Red Bank Food City supermarket. In another two weeks, starting on Jan. 23, TVFCU will open another in-store branch for East Hamilton County at the Food City store on Ooltewah Ringgold Road.
As Red Bank grocery shoppers enter the Food City store at Dayton Boulevard and Morrison Springs Road this week, they will be greeted by Jeff Holley and other financial advisors for TVFCU. The credit union's new 450-square-foot branch features both in-person loan officers and a pair of Interactive Teller Machines connected to personal tellers who work out of the main downtown office.
The new Food City locations will operate from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays to offer later hours than other credit union or bank offices in Chattanooga.
"The branch office needs to look and operate a little different going forward, but we're a firm believer that people still want to have a physical location where they can go to whenever they have a problem or a deeper question that they feel they can get addressed in an office as opposed to an online conversation," said Todd Fortner, president of the 81-year-old credit union.
"This is kind of an evolution for us to allow our customers to come in to one of our in-store branches and do anything they could at one of our full-service offices. But we can offer this convenience at only a third of the cost of our other branches."
The new Food City branches - the first such in-store locations for the Tennessee Valley credit union - will bring to 17 the number of offices operated by TVFCU, and Fortner said the credit union continues to look for market opportunities to reach more consumers in the region with additional facilities.
Among the 30 banks operating in the metropolitan Chattanooga market, the number of offices has dropped from its peak in 2009 at 179 to 150 such locations today, according to FDIC data. Many banks are looking at ways to make further cuts in traditional brick-and-mortar facilities in favor of mobile and online banking services.
But as a member- owned, not-for-profit financial institution, TVFCU acts differently than banks, Fortner said. The credit union president, who audited banks as a CPA for years before joining the Tennessee Valley credit union 11 years ago, said TVFCU prides itself on both its personal service and new technologies.
In the new Food City branch opening this week, Holley said he plans to greet and talk with shoppers in the store as part of the credit union's philosophy to "make a friend and make a member."
"We as a staff are really going to work to engage people, start a conversation, interacting with folks as they come in to shop," Holley said. "We look at these sites as prime locations to introduce ourselves to a lot of new people."
Such personalized service is key for the region's biggest credit union, which serves more than 125,000 members from branches across 13 counties. TVFCU is looking at adding still more locations, Fortner said.
"We think we still have a few opportunities where we don't have ideal locations for folks, and we're exploring those as time goes by to see if we can cost effectively expand into those areas over time," he said.
TVFCU also has expanded its mobile apps and online services and was one of the first financial institutions in Tennessee two years ago to add Interactive Teller Machines that connect consumers to a live personal teller downtown.
The credit union bills its ITMs as "TVFCU Live," and the personal tellers who staff the machines work out of a studio in the middle of the credit union headquarters downtown.
Annelise Beckman-Pierce, one of the personal tellers who works in one of the 18 bays downtown, said she is able to quickly switch among customers at the half dozen sites with ITM machines to respond to changing consumer needs.
"I really love being able to talk with different people across so many of our branches," she said. "It's a lot of fun and most people appreciate the personal service, even though I am miles away from where they are located."
TVFCU pioneered the first Interactive Teller Machines in Ringgold two years ago, and the credit union has added the interactive teller machines in Fort Oglethorpe, Ooltewah, North Cleveland and Soddy Daisy. The credit union plans to add more of the ITMs in Kimball and Soddy-Daisy in the future.
Valerie Gifford, senior vice president of retail operations for TVFCU, said the 18-bay studio downtown where the personal tellers staff the ITM machines will be expanded to 40 bays this year when the credit union relocates its headquarters into the office building it is renovating at 535 Chestnut Street.
"Personal service is what people are looking for, and they can still get that face-to-face encounter even when the teller isn't at each location," Gifford said. "It can be quicker and more efficient for us (with remote tellers), but the customer still gets the personal service and interaction with a real live teller."
Such devices allow for more help, discussion and options than traditional automatic teller machines (ATMs), Gifford said.
Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union also is a part of the CO-OP surcharge-free ATM network, which has more than 55,000 ATMs across the country.
"We have customers all over the country, many of whom used to live here and have moved elsewhere, who use our mobile apps and nationwide ATM network," Fortner said. "We want to do what we can to serve our members in person or online, no matter where they might reside."
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340.