NCUA Conserves 1st Choice Credit Union of Atlanta

Deposits insured, branches to stay open, NCUA says

The National Credit Union Administration placed 1^st Choice Credit Union of Atlanta into conservatorship on Friday. The action was taken in consultation with the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance.

The credit union is a federally insured, state-chartered credit union; it has 6,709 members and assets of $38.6 million, according to its latest call report.

Member deposits at 1^st Choice remain protected by the NCUA’s Share Insurance Fund and member services will continue at both of the credit union’s branches in Atlanta.

“The NCUA has made no decisions about the long-term future of the credit union; however, continued service to members is a priority,” agency officials said.

The credit union serves employees of Grady Hospital, Morehouse School of Medicine faculty, Emory University School of Medicine faculty, Southside Healthcare, Atlanta Life Insurance Company, South Fulton Community Development Corporation, credit union staff, and family members.   

1^st Choice is a certified Community Development Financial Institution and also is a Minority Depository Institution. It was founded in 1946 to serve employees of Grady Hospital and was known as Hospital Authority Credit Union. Its name was changed in 1991.

The credit union’s website states that the credit union’s vision is “to become, within five years, the preferred financial institution for our members and deliver a diversified and member‐centric product offering through modern, digitally enabled channels while retaining our socioeconomic and co‐operative orientation.”

And it described its mission to “be a strong, safe, and secure financial institution achieving its vision by being a good financial resource for the communities we serve, and in the lives of our members.”