The History of America's Credit Unions
First Alliance Credit Union, founded in 1932 by a school teacher and seven Rochester firefighters, began as Municipal Employees Credit Union (MECU) to serve city employees. Over time, it expanded to serve a broader community, and in 1996, adopted its current name to reflect its inclusive membership, with a commitment to serving all members with the tagline "all for one."
History
It all started in 1932, during the Great Depression, when the desperate financial needs of a new school teacher in Rochester prompted him and 7 Rochester firefighters to establish their own credit union, Municipal Employees Credit Union (MECU). The first “branch” was located in the original firehouse in downtown Rochester, which was run by the firefighters and other volunteers, and at the time the credit union was only open to Rochester city employees.
By 1996, the credit union had expanded and opened its membership to additional groups in need of a local financial resource they could trust. Thus, the credit union needed a name to reflect the alliance that was formed through all of the new fields of membership, beyond only municipal employees and their families, and that is when First Alliance Credit Union was born.
In 2016, we adopted a new logo and tagline to better express our commitment to our members and the communities we live in. Our logo is representative of the Rochester skyline and the colors speak to our history and our future. Our tagline, “all for one” is simply our commitment that ALL we do is FOR every ONE of our members. That means YOU!
First Alliance Credit Union 2014 at our 37th Street branch with the old logo.
Where it all began: The First Alliance Credit Union fire station in 1933.
Firefighters in front of the iconic old firehouse in Rochester, MN – the birthplace of our story!