Over 40 Years Old (And Prettier Than Ever)
Southwest Airlines Federal Credit Union was started on September 22, 1975, with 222 members and $29,119 in assets. We started out strong and have continued steady growth ever since!
In the beginning, the credit union was run by Southwest Airlines employees out of their personal offices at the headquarters in Dallas, Texas. By the end of the first year, a table and phone were added to the credit union's asset column. The first SWACU Branch was a file room that was converted in order to have a designated location. (We were hitting the big time!) Things were moving along pretty well, and by the end of 1980 we cleared the $1 million hurdle with one full-time and two part-time employees.
By the time our tenth birthday rolled around, the credit union's asset size had swelled to $13 million dollars with 4,127 members. It was time to move out on our own, leaving the comfy confines of Southwest Airlines offices to our own dedicated location at Dallas’ Love Field.
In 1986 a Houston branch was opened and once Phoenix opened a hub, we followed suit and opened our Phoenix branch.
On January 1, 1988, we became a separate entity of Southwest Airlines. This allowed us to expand our services to other businesses known as Select Employee Groups. To reflect the change, "employees" was dropped from our name, and we became Southwest Airlines Federal Credit Union.
To keep pace with the continued growth, a two-acre lot was purchased in Dallas for the construction of our new offices at the corner of Shorecrest and Denton Drive. These offices opened in October of 1989 and this is where our headquarters is located to this day.
From a file room with a single phone, Southwest Airlines Federal Credit Union has grown to four office locations in three major cities and a staff of more than 100 employees. We serve the financial needs of almost 60,000 members with assets of around $600 million.
Through the years, we've added a full array of services beyond our convenient checking and savings accounts, including loans, outstanding credit card services, online and mobile banking, bill pay, and so much more. Our members enjoy the best available financial services with a personal level of attention that simply can't be found from other financial institutions.
