Navy Federal Credit Union history

1936: Navy Department Credit Union (NDCU) pays its first dividend of three percent.

The thrift was rechartered under more flexible federal rules in June 1947.

The board named William A. Hussong, Jr., as the credit union's first office manager in October 1951.

Fifteen percent of the bank's loans were delinquent in 1952.

In 1954, the credit union changed its charter again to open membership to Navy and Marine Corp officers everywhere, regardless of geographic location, and changed its name to Navy Federal Credit Union.

In 1960, the board fired the autocratic but influential Hussong, ostensibly over the controversy surrounding the new computer.

1962: Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) becomes the world's largest credit union.

After Hussong's replacement Tom Landers stepped down to enter a consulting career, in 1963 the board chose Richard Cobb, a retired Navy captain, as the next manager.

NFCU's headquarters were moved to Building 143 in the Navy Yard Annex in 1964, the same year enlisted personnel were offered membership privileges.

A series of mergers with other credit unions at Navy bases began in 1967 with the Washington Navy Yard Federal Credit Union.

NFCU moved to an impressive, spacious new headquarters in Vienna, Virginia, in 1977.

Cobb stepped down as manager in August 1980, to be replaced by Rear Admiral Joe G. Schoggen, who had joined NFCU after serving in the Navy's Resale Systems unit.

NFCU's assets approached $2 billion, up from $1.6 billion in 1984.

Some consolidation in the industry followed as NFCU's membership continued to grow, reaching 692,000 in 1985.

Tom Hughes became president and CEO of NFCU in 1988, as savings and loans institutions began venturing onto the turf of credit unions by offering consumer loans.

NFCU ended 1990 with $4.6 billion in assets, and passed $8 billion in the mid-1990s.

At the end of the century, NFCU's extensive Y2K compliance measures caught the attention of CNN. It had begun preparing in 1991 to accommodate substandard communications infrastructure in the countries where it did business.

Hughes retired in 1996, leaving command to Brian McDonnell, a 26-year NFCU veteran.

Total Assets: $10 billion (1999)

In 2003, the credit union opened its membership further, to include Navy contractors.

1947: NDCU rechartered as a federal credit union and extends membership to all Washington area naval personnel. It was ranked number 78 on the 2008 Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For list, which is produced by the Great Place to Work Institute.

In 2014, Navy Federal expanded its Vienna headquarters.

In June, Computerworld named Navy Federal to its 2015 100 Best Places to Work in IT, ranking 26th among large organizations.

In 2017, Navy Federal Credit Union settled a class action lawsuit over millions of unwanted phone calls, many of which had gone to individuals who were not credit union members and specifically asked not to be contacted.

The second phase, which will measure 1.1 million feet and cost around $600 million, has broken ground and will be complete sometime in early 2019.

Navy Federal has also made multiple disaster relief donations, most recently a $100,000 donation to United Way of West Florida, to assist communities near their Pensacola, Florida offices that were adversely affected by Hurricane Sally in October 2020.

As of 2021, Navy Federal is by far the largest credit union in the United States, with total assets nearly three times that of the second-largest US credit union.