Lafayette Federal Credit Union

History

The year 1935 was a year of significant growth for the American credit union movement: Over 800 federal credit unions were chartered that year. One of them was a credit union that was created to serve the employees of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, the RFC Mortgage Company and the Commodity Credit Corporation. Back then it was called the 1825 H Street Federal Credit Union. Today it’s known as Lafayette Federal Credit Union.

October 1935 — The credit union opens its doors and begins offering personal loans. The minimum loan is $10; the maximum, $50.

1936 — The maximum loan is increased to $100.

1939 — The credit union begins offering new vehicle loans.

1940 — The credit union moves to the Lafayette Building in Washington, D.C., and changes its name to Lafayette Federal Credit Union.

1940 — The limit on total deposits in share accounts is $500.

1941 — LFCU begins selling U.S. Savings Bonds.

1943 — LFCU ends the year with a total of $43,280 in member share deposits.

1946 — LFCU has five full-time employees and one part-time employee.

1947 — The limit on total deposits in share accounts is $1,000.

1950 — LFCU has 960 members.

1951 — Total loans outstanding amount is $129,000.

1953 — The Small Business Administration is added to LFCU’s field of membership.

1955 — Assets reach nearly $500,000.

1960 — Assets total nearly $2 million.

1961 — LFCU moves its main office to the U.S. Department of State building and adds the U.S. Peace Corps to its field of membership.

1969 — Adoption of new Federal Credit Union bylaws empowers LFCU to better serve its members.

1970 — National Credit Union Administration is created to supervise and regulate credit unions; "once a member, always a member” policy adopted.

1974 — LFCU has $10million in assets and 7,600 members.

1980 — LFCU begins offering share draft (checking) accounts.

1981 — Certificate and IRA accounts are introduced.

1984 — The credit union joins the MOST® ATM network and begins offering ATM cards.

1985 — LFCU installs its first in-house computer system.

1987 — LFCU begins offering home equity loans.

1988 — LFCU makes first trust mortgage loans.

1989 — LFCU moves its headquarters to Kensington.

1992 — LFCU merges with Potomac Community Federal Credit Union and introduces a telephone bill payer program.

1994 — LFCU introduces the ACCESS card debit card and 24-hour telephone loan application service.

1995 — The Personal Branch online financial services system becomes available as the LFCU website is unveiled.

2000 — The e-access all-electronic account is introduced.

2004 — LFCU forms Potomac Business Services, LLC with three other credit unions to provide commercial loans.

2006 — Columbia Heights branch opens.

2008 — The inaugural Capitol Classic Charity Golf Tournament is held.

2009 — Business account services and the Relationship Checking Program are introduced.

2010 — LFCU celebrates its 75th Anniversary.

2011 — Montgomery County, MD is added to LFCU’s field of membership through the American Consumer Council (ACC).

2012 — All residents of Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia are added to LFCU's field of membership through the American Consumer Council (ACC).

2016 — Lafayette Federal Credit Union merged with CSC Employees Federal Credit Union of Falls Church, Va. It will continue its operations as a division of Lafayette Federal Credit Union.

Membership

Lafayette Federal’s field of membership is set by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). As with all credit unions, membership at Lafayette Federal is limited to individuals sharing the common bond defined in its credit union charter. All residents of Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia are added to LFCU's field of membership through the American Consumer Council (ACC).

Once a Member‚ Always a Member Policy

Lafayette Federal Credit Union operates under a "once a member, always a member" policy. Regardless of the way members originally obtain eligibility, once they become a member they are able to retain their membership in the credit union as long as a minimum balance of $50 is held in a Share Savings account.

Residents of Potomac, MD

Persons who live or work in that part of Montgomery County, Maryland, known as Potomac, bounded on the south by the Potomac River from Riley's Lock Road on the west to Cabin John Parkway on the east, on the east by Cabin John Parkway to the Capital Beltway 495 to Interstate 270, on the north by Shady Grove Road to State Route 28 to State Route 112, and on the west by State Route 112 and Seneca Road to River Road to Riley's Lock Road to the Potomac River are eligible: Provided, however, that the military reservation known as the U. S. Navy Ship Research and Development Center is excluded from this field of membership.

Select Washington, D.C. Residents

Many individuals who live, work, worship or attend school in Washington, D.C. are eligible to become members. However, the D.C. charter only extends to individuals within certain geographic boundaries.

Select Employee Groups

Membership is extended to all direct-hire individuals employed by or retired from the authorized list of employers throughout the United States. Lafayette Federal Credit Union's official website provides a complete list of these selected organizations.

Eligibility Through a Family Member

Eligibility is extended to all current members' immediate family members. This includes: grandparents, parents, spouses, children (including foster and adopted), grandchildren and siblings. Un-remarried spouses of persons who died while employed by any of our eligible organizations are also eligible for membership.

Eligibility Through the Home Ownership Financial Literacy Council

Eligibility is extended to all members of the Home Ownership Financial Literacy Council. With a one-time fee membership fee of just $10, applicants gain access to comprehensive home ownership and financial educational tools, as well as eligibility to become a member of Lafayette Federal.

Services

Lafayette Federal Credit Union offers a similar array of services as any other full-functioning financial institution, including:

Organization

Lafayette Federal is governed by a board of volunteers, elected by and from its membership. Lafayette Federal also has separate subsidiaries, Potomac Business Services (PBS), Preferred Business Xchange (PBX) and Preferred Business Xchange Settlement Services (PBX SS), which are Credit Union Service Organizations (CUSO’s). CUSOs were established by NCUA as a way for credit unions to pursue product offerings that would normally be outside of the purview of a credit union.

Management Team

Mr. B. John Farmakides is the President/CEO of Lafayette Federal Credit Union. Mr. Farmakides has been an active member of the Lafayette Federal community since 1994. He joined the Supervisory Committee in 1998, and later served as its Chairman. In 2006, he was elected to the Board of Directors and was subsequently nominated to and assumed the position of Treasurer. Mr. Farmakides was named President and CEO in 2007. Prior to that, he worked in investment banking, commercial real estate, and the Federal government.

Currently, Mr. Farmakides holds positions on many professional boards and committees including: Vice-Chairman of Potomac Business Services LLC, President of Preferred Business Xchange, LLC, Director of PBX Settlement Services, LLC and serves on the Regulatory Committee of the National Association of Federal Credit Unions.

Mr. Farmakides, a licensed attorney, received his B.B.A and M.B.A. degrees from James Madison University, and a J.D. law degree from the American University.

Mr. Farmakides is assisted by the Senior Management team at Lafayette Federal Credit Union which is composed of:

Arnold S. Rosenthal‚ Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer; Brent Lockwood, Executive Vice President, Lending; Tina Werking‚ Senior Vice President, Lending; Jeff Ference, Senior Vice President, Accounting; Stephen Harrell, Senior Vice President, Finance

Community Involvement

For the past nine years Lafayette Federal Credit Union has hosted annual golf tournaments to support various local charities. In June 2016, Lafayette Federal hosted the 9th Annual Capitol Classic Charity Golf Tournament to benefit the Children's Miracle Network. The 2016 charity tournament netted a contribution of $43,000, for over $200k total contributions to local charities in the past nine years.

ATM Locations

Members can access their accounts with 100,000 surcharge-free ATMs available nationwide, through Lafayette's partnerships with network affiliates including Allpoint, Credit Union 24, and the Co-Op Network.