The Number

Los Angeles County is a hotbed for credit unions, and the San Fernando Valley hosts half of its top 10 institutions. According to the California Credit Union League, Logix Federal Credit Union in Burbank was the largest thrift in the county during the fourth quarter, with $4.2 billion worth of loans and other assets. Total assets of Logix, largest credit union in L.A. County Of the 348 credit unions in California, 123 are headquartered in the county. Membership in county credit unions hit a record at the end of the year, 2.7 million people. Dwight Johnston, chief economist for the league, said credit unions emerged from the Great Recession in much better financial shape than banks and have gained traction as the economy improved. “We were well-positioned and well-capitalized to be aggressive in lending,” he said. “That has paid off.” Five of the top 10 credit unions in the county are based in the Valley region. In addition to Logix, they include No. 5, Premier America Credit Union in Chatsworth, with assets of $2.1 billion; California Credit Union in Glendale, No. 6 with nearly $1.5 billion; No. 8, Partners Federal Credit Union in Burbank, with a little more than $1.4 billion; and No. 9, Caltech Employees Federal Credit Union in La Canada-Flintridge, with assets of nearly $1.4 billion. Originally, credit unions targeted employees of a specific company or government agency, but now they usually determine their market based on geography, with wide latitude in defining their “community,” Johnston said. While Logix, which started serving employees of Lockheed Corp., was the largest credit union in the county, the largest in the state was SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, which started serving teachers in Orange County. It reported fourth-quarter assets of $11.8 billion. – Joel Russell