ORNL FCU 75 Years

The year also capped a tumultuous time for the savings and loan industry. That summer, President George H. W. Bush signed legislation to provide a federal bailout for 747 insolvent savings and loan institutions following the largest banking collapse since the Great Depression. The credit union industry continued to provide a model of stability and good stewardship, and ORNL FCU continued moving forward by expanding and improving services, planning for potential opportunities, and preparing for changes on the horizon. It also added to its slate of offerings by providing members with access to professional financial planning services.

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Nineteen ninety was a historic year for the state, as Martha Craig Daughtrey became the first woman to serve on the Tennessee Supreme Court. The credit union rolled out several new offerings and services that year: the Flex-Five Second Mortgage, the Visa Gold credit card, an expanded Car Facts pre purchase auto research service, and a preferred pricing network of East Tennessee car dealers willing to charge a fixed markup on members’ new cars. New branches were also opened in Clinton and Kingston.

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Despite a stumbling economy, sagging consumer confidence, and tumbling interest rates, ORNL Federal Credit Union enjoyed impressive growth during 1991. The total number of members exceeded forty-one thousand, representing a 6.2 percent increase from the previous year, and total assets were $26.3 million. The year’s successes countered that of other financial institutions. In the face of declining nationwide auto sales, ORNL FCU car loans exceeded the 1990 volume by an astonishing 30 percent. Much of this was due to the credit union’s new VIP Auto Loan program along with Dealer Network Preferred Pricing Program services and its Car Facts centers. This powerful combination made it clear the credit union was by far the best place to shop for and finance a new car. Other new offerings introduced in 1991 included VA, FHA, and convertible adjustment rate mortgages and VIP boat/recreation vehicle loans. The credit union also joined Operation Homecoming to raise funds earmarked for armed forces relief agencies when troops returned from the Persian Gulf. It was also during 1991 that the longtime joint branching partnership with the K-25 Federal Credit Union ended and the Lenoir City and Knoxville branches began exclusively serving ORNL Federal Credit Union members. The jointly owned Credit Union Services Corporation, which provided data processing services, continued serving both credit unions.

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In 1992, Oak Ridge National Laboratory celebrated its fifty-year anniversary. At the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, serendipity was at work as Phillip Fulmer took over as interim head football coach and promptly led the Volunteers to upset wins over rivals Georgia and Florida—a winning era at UT that would last for fifteen years.

A commemorative coin was released to recognize the lab's fiftieth anniversary. (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

46 | 75 YEARS ORNL FEDERAL CREDIT UNION