cPort Celebrates 90 Years!

We are asked often about what the “c” stands for in our name cPort Credit Union. Our recognizable “c” encompasses everything we do. For us, our “c” represents character, confidence, cooperative, current, and community. Our name may be young, but our history serving the community reaches back to 1931. In the midst of the Great Depression, Federal Employees Credit Union was founded. Its sole purpose was to create a financial institution for postal employees during a very challenging economic time in our country’s history. Starting with only $60 in funds, we were the third credit union to open in the state of Maine. Shortly after our start, we changed our name to Government Employees Credit Union (GECU) to better reflect our membership requirements.

We’ve changed locations a couple of times from when we started. Our original location was at the Portland Maine Post office located at 169 Middle Street (pictured above). All operations were run out of a single desk drawer! We remained there for about three decades. In 1965, the Portland Post Office in the Old Port was demolished, and we relocated to 125 Forest Avenue in Portland. Over 20 years later, the main office for GECU was moved to 555 Forest Avenue, then moved one final time to our current location at 50 Riverside Industrial Parkway.

Our original membership consisted of government employees such as postal workers and military personnel. As GECU grew and improved, our charter expanded to offer memberships to anyone who lives or works in one of the following five counties: Cumberland, Kennebec, Androscoggin, Sagadahoc, and York. Because of the new diversity of member needs, along with our expansion in 2005, we changed our name to what we are called today, cPort Credit Union. Over the years we have seen our share of challenges and prosperity. These experiences helped to build the character of our financial institution. Through cooperation with our members and staff, we’ve become what we are today – one of the strongest and fastest growing financial institutions in Maine.

From a single desk drawer to five branch locations over the course of nine decades, cPort Credit Union continues to strive to provide the best financial experience to our members. We live here, we work here, and we are committed to our local communities. Join us for the next 90 years!