The Board of Directors of Altier Credit Union and America First Credit Union are pleased to announce the merger of their two institutions effective March 1, 2018. America First Credit Union will serve as the continuing credit union as approved by the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions and the National Credit Union Administration. America First Credit Union, which currently has 125 locations throughout Utah and Nevada, will add Altier’s five full-service branches in Arizona to its current 125 locations.

“This is an exciting opportunity for America First and we welcome the Altier Credit Union member family with open arms,” said John B. Lund, CEO of America First Credit Union. “We look forward to providing our new members with America First’s wide range of products and services while also providing additional service channels to our existing membership.”

Altier Credit Union opened in 1947 to serve employees of the Salt River Valley Water Users Association. In 2006, the credit union’s name was changed to Altier and its field of membership was expanded to include residents of Maricopa County, Arizona. Altier has approximately $191 million in assets and more than 19,000 members served by 57 employees.

“As a board, we were seeking a partner that aligned well with our culture and values.  As we explored the opportunity with America First we came to realize a potential merger would be a natural fit for members and employees,” said Rose Pfister, board chairman for Altier Credit Union. “We are very excited about the future potential this partnership is going to provide for our members and our communities at large.”

All Altier branches will continue operations as they make their transition to America First. Branch locations are:

  • Gateway Branch, 6846 E. Warner Rd., Mesa, Ariz.
  • Page Branch, 449 Haul Rd., Page, Ariz.
  • St. Johns Branch, 520 W. Cleveland Street, St. Johns, Ariz.
  • Tempe Branch, 1511 N. Project Drive, Tempe, Ariz.
  • Western Branch, 221 N. 79th Ave., Tolleson, Ariz.

America First was founded at Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City in 1939 by a small group of people determined to form a cooperative to promote their collective economic well-being. In its 79-year history, America First has become one of the largest, most stable and most progressive credit unions in the country and has remained a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative financial institution. Today, America First has 125 branches and is the 11th largest credit union in the nation in assets with $9.2 billion and the sixth largest in membership with more than 905,000 members.