El Paso Area Teachers Federal Credit Union

gives institutions like TFCU the opportunity to operate under three types of charter: single common bond, community, or multiple common bond. Historically, credit unions focused on a sole group or physical location (as TFCU did in its infancy); this allowed for stronger, more intimate member relationships. But, for those credit unions interested in expanding their pool of potential partners, the multiple common bond option was the better fit. “For us, one of those common bonds is anybody that lives, works, worships, or goes to school within El Paso County,” explains Villaronga. “Basically, everyone’s included.” Credit unions are unique in that shareholders don’t own them; members own them. This difference is integral to what credit unions are, and it’s what distinguishes them from the mainstream banks and alternative lenders. At the same time, individual credit unions also seek to stand out amongst others, and what truly puts TFCU above the rest of the pack is a signature business manner it calls “red carpet.” “From a product standpoint, you can certainly make the argument that our automobile lending tends to be extremely popular in the market,” says Villaronga says. “Lots of dealerships choose to work with us. We also have a large and growing mortgage operation and a home equity loan operation. We have a business lending component to our operation, which is also growing substantially. But what I would tell you really sets us apart – and this is something that at many banks and credit unions, even in other industries, they talk about, but they rarely measure it the way that we do – is the concept of Red Carpet Service.” “To us, it’s a conversation around the excellence of service,” Villaronga continues. “And we define that very carefully. We train to it. We resource it appropriately across all our channels. And then we measure it incessantly through the Net Promoter Score.”