Today, we are one of the leading financial institutions in Solano, Merced, Yolo, Napa and Contra Costa counties. With current assets totaling more than $1.6 billion, Travis Credit Union serves over 151,000 members and has a network of 19 branches in our twelve-county service region.

Our growing membership, coupled with strong ties to the communities we serve, have always been our strengths. Since our members own the credit union, profits are returned to them in the form of better values on products and services, more branch locations, and steady improvements to our technology and service delivery systems.

And as it has always been, our strength continues to be our faithful commitment to service, a solid, secure history and our long-standing track record for steady growth.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, as citizens migrated in search of work, urgency grew to design and implement new financial solutions to get the nation back on its feet. In 1934, the Federal Credit Union Act became law under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This new law created extraordinary options for people with similar employment to pool their relatively scarce resources for the greater good.

The building blocks of a better quality of life, then as now, were home ownership, automobiles, home furnishings, the means to manage emergencies and some level of planned leisure, and financial predictability throughout the working years and retirement. Self-determined financing through shares in a credit union was fresh mortar for erecting a new economy during and after the hardships of the Depression.

The Credit Union Difference
New federal laws and regulations are changing the structure and face of the financial services industry. In this time of accelerating change, it is important to truly understand how credit unions are unique and different, and why we remain a necessary and extremely popular financial alternative for 82 million Americans.

• Not for Profit: Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives. We exist to serve our members, not to make a profit. Unlike most other financial institutions, credit unions do not issue stock or pay dividends to outside stockholders. Instead, earnings are returned to our members in the form of lower loan rates, higher interest on deposits and lower fees.
• Taxation: Credit unions do pay taxes—payroll taxes, sales taxes and property taxes. Congress exempts credit unions from federal income taxes. The exemption was established in 1937, affirmed by statute in 1951, and re-affirmed in 1998 in H.R. 1151, the Credit Union Membership Access Act, which states credit unions, unlike many other participants in the financial services market, are exempt from federal and most state taxes because credit unions are member-owned, democratically operated, not-for-profit organizations generally managed by volunteer boards of directors and because they have the specified mission of meeting the credit and savings needs of consumers, especially people of modest means.

• Ownership: Credit unions are economic democracies. Each credit union member has equal ownership and one vote—regardless of how much money the member has on deposit. At a credit union, every customer is both a member and an owner.
• Volunteer Boards: Each credit union is governed by a board of directors, elected by and from the credit union's membership. Board members serve voluntarily.
• Membership Eligibility: By current federal statute, credit unions cannot serve the general public. People qualify for membership in a credit union through their employer, organizational affiliations such as churches or social groups, or through a community-charter.
• Financial Education for Members: Credit unions assist members to become better-educated consumers of financial services.
• Social Purpose … People Helping People: Credit unions exist to help people, not make a profit. Our goal is to serve all members well, including those of modest means—every member counts. Our members are fiercely loyal for this reason. They know we will be there for them in bad times, as well as good. The same people-first philosophy causes credit unions and credit union employees to get involved in community and charitable activities, and worthwhile causes.