Our Story


Our Mission

As a trusted financial partner, we proudly serve those who serve our communities.


Our Vision

Impacting the lives of our members and communities for generations to come.


About Credit Unions

Your credit union is a federally insured cooperative financial institution owned by its members. Unlike a bank or savings and loan association, a credit union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative and dedicated only to serving its members who share a common bond. Credit union members pool their money to make their collective savings available for low-cost loans to each other.

Since credit unions are not-for-profit, earnings are distributed to members either in the form of better rates on savings or rebates on loans or are invested in new or improved services for the members. Once you deposit money in the credit union, you become a member and shareholder. You can then vote for the credit union’s Board of Directors. Officers and directors are chosen from the membership and serve on a voluntary basis.


History-Established By Des Moines Police Officers

Serve Credit Union, one of the oldest in the state, began serving its members in 1931. Its purpose was to provide credit and savings to Des Moines police officers and their families at a fair and reasonable rate, to encourage habits of thrift, and to provide the opportunity to use and control their savings for their mutual benefit. Thanks to our loyal members, we’ve become a multi-million-dollar financial institution and are now able to provide a much wider selection of products and services. Over the past few years, we’ve grown to include all public safety professionals including all Law Enforcement, Firefighters, EMTs, and Corrections Officers.

This growth also gave us the opportunity to merge with other like-minded credit unions, like the USDA Credit Union and the Polk County School Employees Credit Union. These mergers allow us to serve employees from governmental agencies and public schools along with their families. Along with this growth has come more ways for members to access their funds, including two full-service branches. In July of 2017, we updated our brand and name to Serve Credit Union, and in May of 2018, we opened a brand new modern branch in Urbandale, IA. This growth and change has been made possible by the integrity of our membership, allowing us to establish a long-standing tradition of providing low-interest loans and high-interest savings. We look forward to serving our members and giving them a strong financial choice for generations to come.


Board of Directors

A big thank you to those who serve as our volunteer Board of Directors!

Executive Board Audit Committee Credit Committee Nominating Committee
David Ness; Chairperson Alex Baranosky; Secretary Nick Brockman; Committee Chair David Ness; Committee Chair
Mike Morgan; Vice Chairperson Dale Bruce; Secretary Gene Haigh; Secretary
Gene Haigh; President Gretchen Hays Nick Brockman
Eric Hartman; Secretary Jason Haigh
 
Honorary Board Member
Kevin Schneider

Safety and Soundness

Serve Credit Union consistently receives high ratings from the Iowa Credit Union Regulatory Agency, confirming our sound management and safe lending practices. Our reserves are considerably above the national average of 10% for credit unions of our size. Each member’s savings are federally insured up to $250,000.00 by NCUA, a United States government agency.


Regulation and Supervision

Serve Credit Union was state chartered in 1931 under the provisions of Chapter 533 of the Code of Iowa as the Des Moines Police Officers’ Credit Union. It is regulated by the Superintendent of Credit Unions, who is appointed by the governor to direct and regulate credit unions. The Iowa Credit Union Division of the Department of Commerce conducts annual audits and examinations.


NCUA

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is the independent federal agency created by the U.S. Congress to regulate, charter, and supervise federal credit unions. With the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, NCUA operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of more than 92 million account holders up to $250,000.00 in all federal credit unions, and the overwhelming majority of state-chartered credit unions.