A fee-free choice in the Bluegrass region committed to community reinvestment
I have held a checking and savings at Park Community CU for the past five years and have only had pleasant experiences and service during my time there. Although I only chose this credit union because it was conveniently located in my frequented Louisville, KY, neighborhoods, recently they have demonstrated their commitment to becoming a community development credit union.
We at Just Money Advisors have been looking for a Better Banking Option to recommend to those living in Louisville for a while now. The area’s long-standing community development financial institution has few consumer bank products such as traditional checking or savings accounts, as well as only having one location with limited hours.
They also have a significantly low Net Loans to Deposit Ratio, meaning that only 60% of their assets are lent out. Our target number is a Net Loans to Deposit Ratio at approximately 85%, because we want the bank to be utilizing their assets effectively to be making as many loans as possible. This is an example of when even a CDFI may not necessarily be the better banking option in an area.
With their recent commitment to becoming a CDFI, Park Community Credit Union is currently our pick for better banking in the Louisville metro area. It has made many small charitable donations to non-profit organizations in Louisville and has been named one the top ten best places to work in Kentucky by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
Recently, the chief financial officer at Park Community Credit Union has begun working with LHOME (Louisville Housing Opportunities and Micro-Enterprise Community Development Loan Fund), whose mission is to divert capital to underinvested neighborhoods in Louisville. Park has committed to lending assets through LHOME to increase their lending in CRA-designated neighborhoods and have even begun working with LHOME to offer new loan products. It is a goal of PCCU to achieve the CDFI designation in the next five years.
Although their commitment to community development lending is relatively recent, and we are currently without reliable sources of lending data for credit unions, Park Community Credit Union is a realistic and excellent choice for Louisvillians. There are 14 locations across Louisville Metro, Southern Indiana, and the Bluegrass Region including Lexington, Richmond, and Berea. They have few, entirely transparent fees, easy-to-use online banking, and offer personal and business accounts as well as assorted loan products. Anyone living in these areas is eligible for an account. However, we would encourage Park to open more branches in underinvested neighborhoods.