Our History Premier Credit Union began as Bankers Life Employees Credit Union on September 11, 1933. The purpose of the credit union was to promote savings and in turn offer affordable loans to its members. Only employees and retirees of Bankers Life Company and their families were eligible to join the credit union. In 1986 when Bankers Life Company changed its name to Principal Financial Group, the credit union subsequently changed its name to Principal Financial Group Employees Credit Union. The credit union's name changed again in 2001 to its current name, Premier Credit Union. This change was initiated for two reasons. The name Principal Employees Credit Union no longer represented our full membership base. Since our policy is "Once a member, always a member", a large part of our membership over 70 plus years were no longer employed at Principal Financial Group. In addition, we have a growing base of family members that never worked at Principal Financial Group. The new name, Premier Credit Union, reinforces our core mission, which is Building Relationships - One Member at a Time. On April 4, 2004, the credit union moved its office to our current main office location at 800 9th Street in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. The location was picked because of its proximity to the corporate offices of Principal Financial Group where a large number of members still work and its convenient downtown presence for new downtown Employer Partners such as The Des Moines Register, KCCI-Chan
Operating in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota, Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines is one of 12 regional banks that make up the Federal Home Loan Bank system. The Home Loan Bank system is one of the largest suppliers of home mortgage credit in the United States. It provides money to local banks to help supply loans for housing and community investment that build neighborhoods and strengthen communities. The Home Loan Bank is wholly owned by its members and receives no taxpayer funding. It gives back to the community by devoting 10-percent of its net-income each year to affordable housing programs.
As a not-for-profit credit union, Affinity is able to do things a little differently. Our member-owned, financial cooperative model allows us to truly focus on the best interest of our members, as we're not driven by simply inflating the bottom line to please stockholders. Because of this, our members benefit from lower loan rates, higher investment yields and less fees than you'll find at traditional banking institutions. Basically, we're okay making less in order to give you more!
Being a credit union and a financial institution is what we are, not who we are. We believe in people over profits. That means low rates on the products and services we offer, from mortgages to vehicle loans to credit cards and so much more. Community Choice is member owned and operates on the principle of local supporting local. We bring a whatever-it-takes mentality to exceed the expectations of our members and the communities we serve every single day. Experience UNbanking in Des Moines.
