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ANNIVERSARY MESSAGE | HISTORY OF HSFCU
One of our founding members
Gov. Josepah B. Poindexter
Hawaii State Federal Credit Union’s story began 75 years ago in 1936. The Great Depression had crippled
much of the nation’s economy, driving many banks out of business thus shrinking the amount of credit
available to America’s citizens. Millions of individuals of humble means requiring relatively small loans found
themselves being denied credit by the banks that remained. In response to this growing crisis President Franklin
D. Roosevelt signed into law the Federal Credit Union Act enabling common working people to pool their
money together, provide loans to each other, and collectively improve their economic condition.
It was in this spirit that 15 employees of the Territory of Hawaii came together to form the Hawaii Territorial
Employees Federal Credit Union on October 26, 1936. Included among the original 15 members was the
Governor of the Territory of Hawaii – Joseph B. Poindexter, a Franklin Roosevelt appointee. The original
members made up a diverse cross-section of government employment including treasurers, auditors, surveyors,
and engineers. The names of the original members are printed below:
Howard H. Adams
Toe Y. Awana
Herbert Bacon
H.N. Browne
Louis S. Cain
W.R. Dunham
James L. Friel
W.E. Holt
M.N. Huckestein
Ernest K. Kai
James Y.T. Leong
Alexander May
William C. McGonagle
Joseph B. Poindexter
Francis H. Smith
75 years later, Hawaii State Federal Credit Union now serves over 75,000
members with nearly $1.2 billion in total assets. Though our size and scope
has grown, our core philosophy remains the same: “people helping people”
to collectively improve the lives of each credit union member and the
communities we serve.
1. Hawaii State Federal Credit Union began in 1936 in the
Territorial Office Building in downtown Honolulu, first on the
mezzanine level and then in a one room office in the basement
of the building. The office was so small that if a credit union
employee was assisting a member seated in the office and
someone else wanted to come in, the member would have to
stand up so that the person could get through the door.
2. Needing more space for our growing membership and
operational needs, we moved to the third floor of the
Charles R. Kendall Building on Mililani Street in 1970.
3. The credit union continued to grow and expand and by
the late 1970s it became apparent that we would need our
own building. The five story office building on Halekauwila
Street opened on March 20, 1981 and has served as our
Main Branch ever since.
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The History of the MAIN BRANCH