The history of Bangor Federal Credit Union can be traced to the mid-1950's when priests from St. John's Catholic Church in Bangor met with 25 parishioners to discuss forming a credit union. The idea of being able to pool their savings to provide low interest loans to other church members appealed to them, and they agreed to apply for certification. On April 10, 1956, St. John's (Bangor) Federal Credit Union became a reality. Dennis "Don" Soucy was soon elected as the first president, and the first treasurer, Francis Sheehan, began conducting business out of his home on Grove Street. In the decades that followed, the Credit Union blossomed.
In 1972, the Credit Union's field of membership was expanded to include Bangor residents, and in 1974, its first branch office opened on Harlow Street in Bangor - a name change to Bangor Federal Credit Union soon followed. The popularity of Bangor Federal Credit Union soared.
"The downtown office was backed right up out onto the sidewalk with people. We had limited lobby space there, and people would go in, and they would wind around to the counter. We were just not able to take care of the amount of traffic we were generating." - Don Soucy, former President of the Board of Directors, Bangor Federal Credit Union, on the necessity of expanding
To accommodate this growth in membership, a drive-thru location on Hammond Street was added in 1991, and a full-service facility on Hogan Road in Bangor opened in 1995. Bangor Federal's original branch on Harlow Street was closed in 1996, and the new Hogan Road location has since served as the Credit Union's headquarters.
In 2001, Bangor Federal Credit Union once again expanded its field of membership, this time to serve all those, including their immediate families, who live, work, worship, or study in Penobscot County. With the new Hogan Road location already bursting at its seams, Bangor Federal Credit Union was once again looking to expand with a new location. According to Soucy, the Credit Union found that nearly a quarter of their members were located on the opposite side of the Penobscot River. So, the hunt for a new location in Brewer began.
In November of 2004, another full-service branch of Bangor Federal was opened on Dirigo Drive in Brewer. With growth continuing to stress the physical infrastructure of the Credit Union, more locations were soon explored. It was soon decided by the Board of Directors and subsequent Facilities Committee that a location on the west side of Bangor was needed. In 2014, Bangor Federal entered into an agreement with the City of Bangor to purchase land on the corner of Maine Avenue and Venture Way for the purpose of building a new location to serve the community. With the introduction of this new, full-service facility, the drive-thru location on Hammond Street was closed and the building sold.
Hand-in-hand with the construction of the new Venture Way location, in 2014 the Credit Union requested, and was granted, an expanded field of membership which now includes Penobscot, Hancock, and Waldo Counties.
Wanting to provide access to residents and businesses in the downtown area they served for so long from the Harlow Street location, in 2020 Bangor Federal Credit Union opened a 24-hour ATM at Merchant's Plaza near West Market Square. This ATM provides access to cash, and the ability to deposit funds, in the bustling streets of historic downtown Bangor.
In the fall of 2021, Bangor Federal once again expanded its footprint by establishing a location in Ellsworth on High Street. Located in the Ellsworth Shopping Center, the newest Bangor Federal location provides a full array of products and services to the residents of Ellsworth, and Hancock County as a whole.
While much has changed over the years, the original mission of the Credit Union has remained the same: to provide a sound, professional, friendly, personalized, and competitive resource for financial services. Serving members has always been, and will continue to be, the number one priority of the Board, and staff, of Bangor Federal Credit Union.
Grove Street Location
(1956 - 1974)
Harlow Street Location
(1974 - 1996)
Hammond St. Location
(1991 - 2014)
Hogan Road Location
(1995 - present)
Dirigo Drive Location
(2004 - present)
Venture Way Location
(2014 - present)
Downtown Bangor ATM
(2020 - present)
Ellsworth Location
(2021 - present)
Checking Accounts
At Bangor Federal, our members come first. With several options to choose from, including Premium & Plus Checking with top tier rewards, you can have the checking account that best suits your lifestyle.
