Lancaster-based Founders looks to expand footprint into Columbia

South Carolina residents outside of the Upstate might have found it odd last fall when a little known credit union paid $4.5 million to rename the University of South Carolina’s baseball stadium Founders Park.

But Founders Federal Credit Union says the 10-year, $7 million deal, which includes $2.5 million for additional advertising at USC, makes perfect sense.

“We wanted to take our brand to the next level” in the Columbia area, said Nicki Nash, senior vice president for marketing for the Lancaster-based financial institution. “This opportunity, it was just too good to pass up.”

Columbia residents have seen a lot of Founders recently, and they can expect to see more as the state’s largest credit union expands its footprint into the Midlands.

Founded in Lancaster County in 1950 to serve disadvantaged textile workers, Founders has become a popular financial option in the Upstate. It has $1.9 billion in assets — up from $700 million in 2000 — and has 25 offices in nine South Carolina counties and Charlotte.

Although Founders for about eight years has sponsored Gamecocks athletics, its only physical presence in Columbia until recently was an ATM outside USC’s Russell House student union. That became a problem for Upstate Founders members who sent their children off to the state’s flagship university.

“We found early on that, with our membership footprint and areas we serve, so many felt like they would have to open an account elsewhere for their children when they went to college,” Nash said.

So when a second-floor office in the Russell House became available, Founders snatched it up and opened its first Columbia branch last July.

The credit union also has placed ATMs inside USC’s newly renamed baseball park. An off-campus Founders branch in Columbia is “on the horizon,” and a branch near Clemson will open soon, Nash said.

Not everyone is thrilled with Founders’ plans, though.

Fred Green, president of the S.C. Bankers Association, said Columbia already is well-served by its financial institutions and that Founders has an “unfair advantage” over banks because it doesn’t pay taxes as a not-for-profit cooperative.

“That’s a big thing,” Green said. “If you’re paying taxes and I don’t, I’ve got a better standard of living than you do, even if we’re making the same amount of money.”

Nash said credit unions don’t have an unfair advantage, because they serve a limited niche and have membership limits.

Credit unions traditionally were formed to provide financial services to people with low or moderate income who have trouble getting credit, according to Ben Hardaway, a spokesman for the National Credit Union Administration.

Only residents of specific areas, such as Chester County; members of certain organizations, such as the Palmetto State Teachers Association in Columbia; or employees of specific companies can join Founders.

Nash said the Columbia market has room for Founders. Several businesses already have approached the credit union about offering their employees membership with Founders, she said.

“With the success of our small space in Russell House,” Nash said, “it is already clear to us we must venture out and pursue another location in order to serve these companies.”

This story was originally published May 1, 2016 at 2:12 PM with the headline "Lancaster-based Founders looks to expand footprint into Columbia."