For 90 years, we have been proudly serving the Des Moines and Central Iowa areas with great rates on loans and savings, along with personalized, friendly service. As we celebrate our upcoming anniversary, we look back – and forward to all Premier Credit Union has to offer!
Early Beginnings
The credit union you now know as Premier was founded on September 11, 1933. Times were difficult and the vision of this organization was to offer affordable loans and equitable savings to their members. At that time, only employees and retirees of Bankers Life Company and their families were eligible for membership. This resilience and commitment to members during the depression era would set the base for the next Century. The credit union would continue to lend and offer savings through war, moon landings, immigration and scientific discovery!
Principal Financial Group
In 1986 Bankers Life Company changed its name to Principal Financial Group, and the credit union did the same by becoming “Principal Financial Employees Credit Union.” Located within the Principal Financial Group building in downtown Des Moines, we continued to keep pace with a growing and fast-paced financial environment. In the same way, membership was still limited to employees, retirees and the families of this organization.
Offering More to Central Iowa
In the final years of the 20th century and early part of the 21st century, we were experiencing tremendous growth. Following successful mergers with the Des Moines Register Credit Union and Equiowa Credit Union in 2001, the credit union decided it could no longer be confined to within the walls of the Financial Group. We changed our name to “Premier Credit Union,” which embodied the spirit of who we were and what we had to offer. We also moved our headquarters to the current location at 800 9th Street in Des Moines. Premier then moved to a community charter – meaning that we were proudly able to serve anyone living or working in the 22 counties that make up Central Iowa!
Further Expansion:
In 2010, Premier Credit Union further expanded their brick-and-mortar offices by opening branches in West Des Moines and Ames, in order to more directly do business with its members there. This moved our total number of physical branch offices to 3. The addition of our branch in Ames allowed us to serve Story County and the northern areas, and Make Life Better for them with our array of financial products and services.
Looking to the Future:
In 2023, Premier Credit Union opened its 4th physical branch office in the Urbandale community. There are also plans to open a 5th branch located in Ankeny. All this growth is attributed to the same core values that were instilled 90 years ago: Offering outstanding member commitment, providing the best financial products, services, and rates, and finding the right solutions for each individual member. Thank you for an incredible 90 years, and we look forward to Make Life Better for you for the next 90!
