Celebrating 90 Years!

Seattle Credit Union turns 90 years old this year, marking nearly a century of commitment to community, education, banking services, and much more. With dreams of more equitable access to fairer lending practices, seven City of Seattle municipal workers pooled together $35 dollars, founding City Credit Union.

Officially chartered in 1933, the credit union has undergone several name changes over the years, most recently dropping Metropolitan to become Seattle Credit Union. With assets of over $1 billion and nearly 55,000 members strong, Seattle Credit Union’s charter now covers all of Washington state and staffs 175 employees. The credit union is continuing to expand beyond the Seattle metro, opening a new Prosperity Center in Tacoma later this year.

The people helping people philosophy is central to the credit union philosophy and is a heritage that we at Seattle Credit Union take pride in. Today, we celebrate our nine decades of business and goodwill by highlighting a few of our leaders who have steered the ship along the way. There have only been 4 CEOs in the credit union’s 90-year tenure. We think that’s saying something special about our inclusive, inventive, and invested financial institution. Let’s hear from 3 of them, including our current leader, Richard Romero.

I am very proud of my association with Seattle Credit Union. I came to work at the Credit Union in 1964 as an Administrative Assistant to Tony Marino, our first CEO and founding member. Upon Tony’s retirement in 1971, I was offered the role of CEO where I served until 1992. Thereafter, I was elected to the Credit Union’s board in 1993, retiring in 2014. After 50 years of direct involvement at Seattle Credit Union, I felt it was time for new blood. The Board of Directors made me Director Emeritus at the time of my leaving the board. Our Credit Union has been a very big part of my life. When I reflect on my past, I feel great pride that I was a part of the credit union movement. It is so hard to reduce my feelings about our Credit Union to just a few words, but I will always be a firm believer in credit unions.

Frank Mathews
President & CEO
1964 – 1992

I arrived from California as the new guy in August 1992 ready to take the handoff from the well-known and respected CEO at the time, Frank Mathews. Early on, I had the opportunity to meet the founder of the Credit Union, Tony Marino. Tony was also well-known throughout Seattle. He stopped by occasionally to remind me that as the “City Credit Union” prospered and grew, the mission should remain the same: run a safe and sound, member-owned financial institution with the goal of helping its members, supporting the community, and providing an excellent workplace. I am confident Seattle Credit Union will continue to assist its members with solid financial products and services.

Bob Harvey
President & CEO
1992 – 2011

As Seattle Credit Union turns 90 years old in 2023, I reflect on how far we have come from our humble beginnings and all the historic events we’ve been through together. To me, our legacy goes back to the basic reason and roots of its creation – to provide financial resources to those who do not have access to them. At its founding, Seattle CU was created as a financial cooperative that pools member’s resources together to help other members. From our humble beginnings to our current state, we use our resources to build wealth and access to financial services for everyone and we will continue to focus on the reason we were originally chartered – bringing resources together to serve those that do not have access to financial services.

Richard Romero
President & CEO
2011 – Present

There exists a commonality among these leaders’ words, a commonality of genuine concern for the financial well-being of not just one group of people, but for all people. And as financial freedoms and restraints continue to grow and change against the landscape of an ever-changing world, there is comfort in knowing Seattle Credit Union remains committed to equitable banking services. We look forward to another 90 years of community and member service.