Latest / Blue Grit Podcast: The Voice of Texas Law Enforcement / #124-"High Speed Chase" with National Police Federal Credit Union

Transcript

#124-"High Speed Chase" with National Police Federal Credit Union · Blue Grit Podcast: The Voice of Texas Law Enforcement

0:00
SPEAKER_01: From other financial institutions.
0:02
SPEAKER_01: Or if you go 60 to 84 months, the rate would be 3.99%.
0:06
SPEAKER_01: But we call them high-speed cases because they're only around for a very short time.
0:10
SPEAKER_01: So you gotta take advantage of it.
0:12
SPEAKER_01: As long as you apply between the 17th and 20th, you don't have to have your lumpat first.
0:17
SPEAKER_01: Because file isn't gonna happen, so you have it so many of them in at that time.
0:21
SPEAKER_01: As long as you apply for it, you will get that special rate.
0:24
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back, viewers, watchers, listeners.
0:26
SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Tyler Owen.
0:29
SPEAKER_00: It's uh it's fall season, which uh I consider golf ball season here in Texas.
0:33
SPEAKER_00: It is high school football playoffs as long as it as we're entering college playoff season.
0:39
SPEAKER_00: My favorite time of year leading up to Thanksgiving and then rolling right into the holidays.
0:43
SPEAKER_00: It's a good time of year to be here in Texas, and it's finally cooled off just a little bit.
0:48
SPEAKER_00: So got some uh got some guests, one in the house and and one remote.
0:52
SPEAKER_00: Uh we have Jim Bedinger with National Police, Federal Credit Union, and George Mendoza, who is at the satellite office there in Farmers Branch.
1:01
SPEAKER_00: Man, we've uh we've had this partnership now for we were just talking, what, six years now, six or seven years?
1:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:06
SPEAKER_00: And it's a good partnership.
1:08
SPEAKER_00: And uh man, you guys have had some uh it's it's kind of funny to the to the anybody watching or listening uh to this podcast that are members of TNPA.
1:15
SPEAKER_00: We've been pushing a lot of information out to you guys and uh jokingly behind the scenes we have been inundated with some sparked interest uh in the credit unions uh rates and uh how they can become members.
1:27
SPEAKER_00: And so we want to have you guys on and uh discuss what all benefits that you guys have.
1:30
SPEAKER_00: Of course, we've been talking about this for about three years now or two years, and we've just never been able to make it work.
1:35
SPEAKER_00: So greatly appreciate you coming down.
1:37
SPEAKER_00: You're out of the Chicago office, and we're gonna talk about kind of maybe we'll dive off into the history of kind of how it started, and then now we're National Police Credit Union.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, Jim and and uh and George, longtime friends of TMPA, happy to have them on the podcast to discuss the many, many, many benefits that the National Police Federal Credit Union has.
1:54
SPEAKER_00: Um Jim, why don't we dive off into that?
1:55
SPEAKER_00: Why don't we dive off into how uh the credit union began because it was the Chicago uh police credit union, if I'm not mistaken.
2:01
SPEAKER_01: It was since uh 1938, we served nothing but the Chicago Police Department all the way up until about 2011.
2:07
SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow.
2:08
SPEAKER_01: And then at that point, we started adding some of the suburban departments that we had in the area.
2:12
SPEAKER_01: And then from there, um in 2014, we get got a partnership with the National Fraternal Order of Police.
2:19
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
2:19
SPEAKER_01: And I know they work well with the the team.
2:21
SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, you guys partner up in a lot of things.
2:23
SPEAKER_01: They have offices right here where you have your main office.
2:26
SPEAKER_01: So um, but yeah, we we started that partnership, and that's when the National Police Credit Union was born.
2:32
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
2:32
SPEAKER_01: And then from there it was a marketing division that we had all the way up until the beginning of uh this year, and then we officially became National Police Federal Credit Union because we have members in all 50 states.
2:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
2:43
SPEAKER_01: But um with the TMPA, we uh started that partnership.
2:46
SPEAKER_01: Uh we'd love to serve every law enforcement officer in the country, but unfortunately, we're a closed charter credit union, so we can only serve those departments that our federal government regulator, the NCUA, approves.
2:57
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
2:57
SPEAKER_01: And so the TMPA was actually approved uh back in 2019, and it's been a great partnership.
3:02
SPEAKER_01: Actually, the you're the uh third largest group that we serve in the country.
3:06
SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
3:07
SPEAKER_00: That's good to hear, man.
3:08
SPEAKER_00: What separates, you know, I mean, I think any cop out there can understand that uh, you know, we're a sp law enforcement's a special group, and so we're also kind of some odd ducks uh in the sense that we there there's certain things that we look at as far as membership aspects and and and how to service, and you guys in the banking industry have have have custom molded y'all's benefit package to serve the law enforcement community.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: And what separates you guys from like a regular credit union other than you know just knowing knowing knowing the cop talk or being associated or affiliated with law enforcement associations?
3:41
SPEAKER_01: Right.
3:41
SPEAKER_01: Great question.
3:42
SPEAKER_01: So um serving law enforcement and their immediate families is all we do.
3:45
SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's what we've done since the beginning back in 1938.
3:49
SPEAKER_01: So we have products that are tailored to law enforcement.
3:52
SPEAKER_01: Also, our board of directors is made up of both active and retired law enforcement entirely.
3:57
SPEAKER_01: So they're the ones who actually represent law enforcement uh to the senior management so that they know that we're gonna do things that is good for law enforcement.
4:07
SPEAKER_01: Uh the biggest difference between us on the products that we have is our end-of-watch loan protection.
4:11
SPEAKER_01: So, what that is, if you're sworn, let's say you get like an auto loan with this, we buy this coverage on the officer's behalf.
4:17
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't cost them anything.
4:19
SPEAKER_01: The rest of the time they're on the job, they're covered.
4:21
SPEAKER_01: You know, God forbid if they suffer a line of duty death, any loans they have at our credit union, including mortgages, are completely forgiven.
4:28
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
4:28
SPEAKER_01: Up to$850,000 in total balances.
4:31
SPEAKER_01: That can only be offered by a first responder credit union, and we're the only ones to offer it in the state of Texas.
4:35
SPEAKER_00: And that's incredible.
4:36
SPEAKER_00: And sadly, uh, you know, you guys, I was talking to uh to George about this at conference, and that that's happened in the past, right?
4:43
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's it's unfortunately been one of those realities.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: Uh, George, I uh you may not even know this, but the first time you and I interacted, uh, well, was that actually was at a board meeting, I believe.
4:54
SPEAKER_00: But then at conference, what I what I what really struck me, and I think it was in San Antonio, you and there were three police officers standing around you, all off duty.
5:02
SPEAKER_00: We were enjoying some you know, cocktails and enjoying the environment of being at conference.
5:05
SPEAKER_00: And what I really appreciated is I can tell that you guys have worked close so closely around law enforcement because the banter back and forth and George's ability to stay in the fight and stay in the conversation with these guys, I was like, okay, that dude knows what the hell he's doing, and he also can understand and talk to law enforcement.
5:23
SPEAKER_00: And George, that that's kind of where I was kind of like, okay, they're the real deal, right?
5:26
SPEAKER_00: So do you remember that?
5:28
SPEAKER_02: I I do.
5:29
SPEAKER_02: I do.
5:30
SPEAKER_02: You know, I've been fortunate that now I've been uh with the credit for 12 years.
5:34
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
5:35
SPEAKER_02: So uh I can definitely relate to the law enforcement officer, you know, what they go through, being uh prior military.
5:43
SPEAKER_02: You know, I I get that sense of uh uh friendship and priority that they have, and uh it it it serves me well in this capacity, you know, being able to uh relate to what they go to and uh how you know how their mind things, how they how they process things.
6:01
SPEAKER_02: So it's definitely something that I enjoy uh being part of the credit union, uh being able to uh uh associate myself with them and help them in any way.
6:11
SPEAKER_02: Uh but uh I do remember that, that that instance that you're referring to.
6:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and it's always interesting for me, you know, uh from a membership standpoint.
6:19
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I'm I'm serious I'm there to serve the members in this capacity, kind of you know, defend them or navigate through challenging situations on the communication side, but we're looking and and seeing you know the the interaction between you and the member, it was obvious to me that you've been around that law enforcement, you know, aspect of things.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: But one of the things that that I really also enjoy about you guys is that you're so quick to respond uh and you're so quick to help uh in the sense that when we and and how the verification process aspect works is that if you're a member with TNPA, um then you qualify to be a member with your y'all's bank, y'all's credit union.
6:51
SPEAKER_00: And so the the speed at which you guys send the verification emails and we simply just say yes or no, this time member, no information is given to National Police Cr Federal Credit Union.
7:02
SPEAKER_00: It's simply a hey, is this guy in the good standings?
7:04
SPEAKER_00: Yes or no, then they qualify for membership with you guys.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: But it's the speed and quality of customer service that I find you know pretty impressive on our end.
7:12
SPEAKER_01: Well, that's great.
7:13
SPEAKER_01: Um, that's what we strive to do because serving law enforcement, just like you, you know, we have members, you have members, you want to deliver high quality service to them.
7:21
SPEAKER_01: And that's always been our whole focus that we've had in there.
7:26
SPEAKER_01: And actually, George runs our online membership uh application process.
7:30
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, he's the one who leads the charge on that.
7:33
SPEAKER_01: We just had a a recent um promotion, we can get into it here a little bit, called a high speed chase.
7:39
SPEAKER_01: And there were hundreds of TMPA members who were coming in.
7:42
SPEAKER_01: So it was a little little fun trying to keep up with all those applications that they were coming through, but it was just such a such a popular promotion that you know uh we waded through them and and it was a great problem to have.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: George, you are uh you want to pick up on that?
7:57
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I I think uh one of the nice things about um about the credit union, you know, you mentioned earlier how we uh are different from let's say your local bank or your local credit union.
8:10
SPEAKER_02: I think the one thing that I always uh try to emphasize to our members is that you know, we have all the capabilities of the big bank, of the big credit union.
8:21
SPEAKER_02: However, we still pride ourselves on the how to relate to our members.
8:28
SPEAKER_02: You know, we still treat it like a smaller bank or a smaller credit union because you know I think that that is one of the big things that a lot of uh financial institutions kind of uh you know get away from is the service, how to service the members, how to service the clients, to to ensure that it's not just the benefits that we offer, but how well we can relate to them.
8:51
SPEAKER_02: And I think that that is one of our strengths, to be honest with you, is how we communicate with our members uh in the food in which you mentioned that that we get back to them.
9:01
SPEAKER_02: Uh it is important not just to myself, I know to Jim as well, but you know, it is something that we strive for as a company, uh, to ensure that our members feel that you know they do mean something to us.
9:14
SPEAKER_02: It's it's not a number.
9:15
SPEAKER_02: It is, you know, we want to build that relationship.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
9:19
SPEAKER_00: And I think the the the similarities between TNPA, obviously us serving the law enforcement aspect, but uh, a lot of our employees are are you know military or law enforcement, but we're also serviced by full-time, all of our board of directors are full-time, you know, uh police officers, as y'all, very similar to y'all's.
9:36
SPEAKER_00: Y'all's also includes retirement.
9:37
SPEAKER_00: And so it's good to know that because uh that's where you're getting your direction from that they want you guys to kind of go on that path and to stay up to the trend, the current trends of what other banks are doing, but also the the the trend of law enforcement to kind of understand like, hey, this is kind of where we're going.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: Um and one of those trends being is that you just mentioned a while ago about the the high speed uh the car car the high speed chase car loan services.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: I got information that we might be seeing that back here in a couple weeks.
10:04
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
10:05
SPEAKER_01: So it's gonna be coming back short time in November, four days only, November 17th through the 20th.
10:11
SPEAKER_01: And basically what it is is new and used autos, 2.99% for zero to 59 months.
10:18
SPEAKER_01: And that includes refinances from other financial institutions, or if you go 60 to 84 months, the rate would be 3.99%.
10:26
SPEAKER_01: But we call them high-speed chases because they're only around for a very short time.
10:29
SPEAKER_01: So you got to take advantage of it.
10:31
SPEAKER_01: As long as you apply between the 17th and 20th, you don't have to have your loan dispersed because it probably isn't going to happen since we get so many of them in at that time.
10:40
SPEAKER_01: But as long as you've applied for it, you will get that special rate.
10:44
SPEAKER_01: So as it's coming in, they're very, very popular promotions.
10:47
SPEAKER_01: It's a great way to uh again be in a credit union.
10:50
SPEAKER_01: We can pass on better rates to our members than what say banks can do.
10:54
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
10:54
SPEAKER_01: And that's one of the ways we do it is through our high-speed chases.
10:57
SPEAKER_00: And one of the things you mentioned earlier is about the the uh line of duty death payoff situation.
11:01
SPEAKER_00: Is it and that is that to every single loan yes with your y'all's own?
11:05
SPEAKER_01: It includes mortgages, it also includes auto loans, credit cards, personal loans, signature loans, student loans.
11:11
SPEAKER_01: Well, any any debts the officer has with this for a combined total balance is of$850,000 in balances.
11:18
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
11:18
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
11:18
SPEAKER_01: Now to trigger it to where the credit union will buy it on the officer's behalf, they can't buy it outright.
11:23
SPEAKER_01: We we purchase it for them.
11:25
SPEAKER_01: Uh they have to do a loan or a combination of loans of$25,000 or more.
11:29
SPEAKER_01: But most car loans these days are way way more than that.
11:32
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
11:32
SPEAKER_01: So if they take advantage of that.
11:34
SPEAKER_01: And once they qualify, they're they're qualified for the rest of the time they're on the job.
11:37
SPEAKER_01: Even if they pay that original loan off, they will still have the coverage with us.
11:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: Back back to the history, real quick, uh, that you guys began as the Chicago police credit union.
11:48
SPEAKER_00: What what kind of sparked y'all's interest to move into Texas?
11:51
SPEAKER_00: That's a pretty big gap between tech, you know, Chicago and Texas.
11:54
SPEAKER_00: And I think uh if you want to maybe expand on how you guys got here, and uh I'm assuming George, did you did you come aboard whenever they transferred, or were you a uh Chicago native you know guy that that moved down during the transition?
12:08
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so I'm I'm originally from Chicago, uh like Jim.
12:12
SPEAKER_02: Uh and it was something that uh had been thought about prior to to us coming here.
12:18
SPEAKER_02: I mean, obviously with um the partnership that we had with TMTA, it it just you know it it made sense to uh establish an office here.
12:29
SPEAKER_02: Uh I was fortunate enough that at that time um you know uh I had the ability to to move.
12:36
SPEAKER_02: Uh I have uh support, you know, from uh the family, the wife, the kids, everybody that uh it was a move that we we all agreed on, and it just so happened that uh uh the timing was just perfect.
12:50
SPEAKER_02: It was perfect for the credit union, for us uh as a family.
12:54
SPEAKER_02: But uh yeah, the move out here was uh was uh uh eventful uh to some degree.
13:00
SPEAKER_02: I mean I moved out of here in the middle of COVID in 2020.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I forgot about that.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: It's right.
13:05
unknown: Yeah.
13:06
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so it it was interesting uh to say the least when we moved out of here.
13:10
SPEAKER_02: But uh I can't say you know enough good things about Texas.
13:14
SPEAKER_02: It seemed great to us.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, it's definitely probably a lot hotter than uh than Chicago, but man, we welcomed you with open we welcomed you with open arms and in my I myself was a if uh well I'm I'm a product of a transfer.
13:25
SPEAKER_00: I transferred to Central Texas from East Texas.
13:27
SPEAKER_00: Not as much as a culture shock, I'm sure, from Chicago down to uh the area.
13:31
SPEAKER_00: But hey, listen, you're you're in a great area.
13:33
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you guys are based right there in the farmers branch, uh phenomenal school districts there.
13:37
SPEAKER_00: Uh I happen to be from Irving, George, if you didn't know that.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: Graduated from Irving High School.
13:41
SPEAKER_00: I'm right now I just graduated right down the road from you, so I'm very familiar with where where you live at uh or work at, excuse me.
13:47
SPEAKER_00: But no, man, it's been it's been a good partnership uh from a TNPA standpoint because when we we have a lot of financial wellness, right?
13:54
SPEAKER_00: I mean, people talk a lot about you know the mental wellness of law enforcement and the financial wellness.
13:59
SPEAKER_00: You know, listen, I'll be the first one to say it.
14:01
SPEAKER_00: As a former cop myself and and current, you know, technically reserve officer, we're not the smartest in the in the we're not the brightest crayons in the box when it comes to financial decisions.
14:10
SPEAKER_00: And so for TNPA to offer the mint the financial wellness side between the McLean advisors and then financial cop to also have the lean-on now with the partnership that we've had for many years now, National Police Federal Credit Union, yeah, it's a great marriage, right?
14:23
SPEAKER_00: It's it's a kind of the connect the dots, the the trifecta uh for financial well-being.
14:27
SPEAKER_00: And that and that's that's why the partnership exists today.
14:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
14:30
SPEAKER_01: No, Nick's a great guy to work with at Financial COP.
14:33
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
14:34
SPEAKER_01: Um, we do offer our members, if somebody, let's say your credit's not where you want it to be.
14:38
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
14:38
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we offer free financial counseling.
14:41
SPEAKER_01: It's confidential, uh, one-on-one, working with uh Gwen.
14:45
SPEAKER_01: I've been with the credit union now for 28 years.
14:47
SPEAKER_01: She's actually been there a little bit longer.
14:49
SPEAKER_01: So she really knows um finances and again, only working with law enforcement.
14:54
SPEAKER_01: She understands their unique needs and what they need.
14:56
SPEAKER_01: And again, it's it's free.
14:58
SPEAKER_01: Um, it's to anyone who's a member of the credit union.
15:01
SPEAKER_01: It's something we offer because we want all of our members to get to the point where they can get the best rate, not just from us, but from anybody.
15:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
15:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
15:07
SPEAKER_00: And I y'all are the are y'all the only credit union that you that you can think of that offers because I've never heard of that, that another credit union offers essentially free counseling sessions for how to get your credit score a little bit better.
15:18
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure there's some out there, but I've never, yeah, me personally, I've never heard of that occurring.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: And that's confirmation that cops historically just have not been in a good financial state.
15:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there's, you know, we see we see the whole spectrum.
15:30
SPEAKER_01: We really do.
15:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
15:31
SPEAKER_01: You know, you've got some that are very, very good with it, and you got some that are like, you know, I could die tomorrow and you know, I'm just gonna throw a wind and buy that truck right now and you know, do all that.
15:41
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, we see that within there, but you know, for us it was very important.
15:46
SPEAKER_01: Um, we can't say yes to everybody on a loan because some people just, you know, are not in a position that can't have it.
15:52
SPEAKER_01: But we want to be able to then say, okay, well, we can't tell you yes right now, but you know, work with our financial counselor and get to the point where your credit is good, you know, at least to the point where it's stable, and then we can get back to you and then start giving you some good rates, you know, on the auto loans and the personal loans and things like that.
16:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
16:10
SPEAKER_01: Some people are just, you know, not a good financial risk.
16:13
SPEAKER_01: And that's true.
16:14
SPEAKER_01: But we would we don't want them to feel like we just said no and slam the door in their face.
16:17
SPEAKER_01: Right.
16:17
SPEAKER_01: So you've got to have have that, you know, service both on this end and on this end, you know.
16:22
SPEAKER_01: And we do um financial uh wellness trainings as well.
16:27
SPEAKER_01: We do a lot of them in uh Chicago.
16:29
SPEAKER_01: I've done some.
16:29
SPEAKER_01: We we first started out um venturing out uh state uh when we opened an office in Arizona.
16:36
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
16:36
SPEAKER_01: And it was through that um that we, you know, started doing the business development in Arizona, and then um at an FOP Leadership Matters conference, there were a few of your field reps there.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
16:48
SPEAKER_01: And I was confused because I thought it was only for FOP members, which uh, you know, not knowing at the time how you guys have a partnership.
16:54
SPEAKER_01: And um a couple of your field reps came up and said, Well, tell me more about this credit union.
16:59
SPEAKER_01: So I started telling them about it, and that's kind of what it led to.
17:02
SPEAKER_01: And then um I came out here for a board meeting, did a presentation to everyone, and we kind of then the rest is history.
17:10
SPEAKER_00: And then we made we made George move from uh from Chicago to Texas, and and there you are.
17:15
SPEAKER_00: So, George, one of the things that I that I was I was talking about is that uh you have shared some certain and tip and but to you know to be as transparent as possible, we typically see each other at the at the night at the uh you know TMPA conference every single year.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: Uh and I'm blessed to have YouTube uh there every single year, it seems like, and and y'all brought some other employees, but you and I specifically had a conversation and it was so rewarding again back to understanding the the culture within law enforcement.
17:41
SPEAKER_00: You had talked about different stories and different impactful things that you've been able to do with National Police Federal Credit Union.
17:48
SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
17:48
SPEAKER_00: Give us one example that that you can think of of driving home that day and knowing that both of you that the efforts and dedication that you guys have not just in the banking industry but to the law enforcement family.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: Give give me kind of one example without getting too much into personal business, but give me kind of one example and walk me through one of those rewarding days as you step away uh at the end of the day at work.
18:13
SPEAKER_01: Um sorry go for it, George.
18:16
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, go ahead.
18:17
SPEAKER_01: No, I was just gonna say I I remember I was I used to be the the chief operating officer there before I was in more into the business development side of things.
18:26
SPEAKER_01: And um there was uh a a police officer who came up to me and he said uh you know, in Chicago, one of the branches there, and he's like, Hey, do you remember me?
18:34
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, not really, I'm sorry.
18:37
SPEAKER_01: You know, because we have a lot of members and and I work with a lot of people, and he's like, I just want to tell you, you um you told me I really needed to get my act together when it came to credit.
18:47
SPEAKER_01: You gave me some pointers and and things like that.
18:50
SPEAKER_01: He's like, I just want to thank you for that.
18:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:53
SPEAKER_01: That was huge.
18:54
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:54
SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, the fact that that you know, he took my advice and and was able to do that and was able to get to a better place in his life and and you know, reach his financial goals.
19:04
SPEAKER_01: That that really is what our mission statement is, and and our employees live it every day.
19:09
SPEAKER_01: Some of them are related, you know, whether it be spouse or kids or parents of or whatever, law enforcement's a big part of you know our employees' lives as well.
19:18
SPEAKER_01: So hundred percent.
19:19
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
19:20
SPEAKER_01: George.
19:22
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I I would say for me, the the the most rewarding part of the anything where I've had the most uh interactions and you know, what you might think of good stories how we attend role calls with our with our you know different departments that we serve.
19:38
SPEAKER_02: Uh I feel that typically that is when you really get the buy-in from the officers, from you know, our members.
19:47
SPEAKER_02: You know, it takes quite dedication not just to either when they meet them, but to actually come out and see them in person at their you know, at their uh office or their roll call, you know, whether it's at five o'clock in the morning or at ten o'clock at night, uh, it is probably one of the most rewarding things that I do in my job.
20:11
SPEAKER_02: Uh it it it really emphasizes the the our commitment to the law enforcement community.
20:18
SPEAKER_02: And uh exactly what I want to be doing is when I'm out in the field reaching out to them and assisting them with their with their finances.
20:27
SPEAKER_02: I I think that for me is probably uh out of everything, the the one thing I enjoy the most and what's more rewarding to me than anything else.
20:35
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so George, I can't remember what town it was, but you were able to participate in one of the saturations we had.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: I believe it was in College Station.
20:41
SPEAKER_00: But again, it was cool to see again the interaction uh and and you can feel and see the member understanding uh that this is a separate credit union.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: It's something different than just a regular credit union uh that's that's within these communities.
20:54
SPEAKER_00: And so it was cool seeing that interaction again with you.
20:56
SPEAKER_00: But um let's talk about mortgages real quick.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about the difference in mortgages and let's talk about you know what separates you guys from the from the you know from the rest.
21:04
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
21:04
SPEAKER_00: Give me kind of some some you know key points on on the mortgages with with uh with y'all.
21:09
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're full service.
21:10
SPEAKER_01: So we own our wholly owned uh subsidiary called Police Mortgage.
21:14
SPEAKER_01: It's 100% owned by the credit union.
21:16
SPEAKER_01: Uh basically we offer everything you'd look for, conventional VA, FHA, you know, for folks that are in the military.
21:23
SPEAKER_01: VA is one of the best loans that you can possibly get.
21:26
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
21:26
SPEAKER_01: Uh it's uh one of the great things that the federal government's actually done, you know, for folks that served in the military.
21:32
SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, in in addition to being full service, uh right now we actually are 1% and have been for a while below market on our rates.
21:42
SPEAKER_01: So a 30-year fix, I didn't check today, unfortunately, but it was around 6.675 for a 30-year mortgage.
21:49
SPEAKER_01: We're at 5.75.
21:51
SPEAKER_01: And that's not pay points down to get to it.
21:53
SPEAKER_01: That's a true rate reduction.
21:55
SPEAKER_01: And that will actually be running through the end of November.
21:58
SPEAKER_01: Even after that, though, we're still gonna have below market rates.
22:01
SPEAKER_01: It may not be a full 1%, but it's you know something that we have.
22:05
SPEAKER_01: Um, we've saved um law enforcement officers a ton of money in this high rate environment for people who do have to purchase right now.
22:12
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
22:12
SPEAKER_01: Um, obviously the folks that took advantage of the big threes and the twos back when they found, you know, 3%, 2%.
22:18
SPEAKER_01: Um, we're not gonna be able to do refinances for them right now, and that's great.
22:22
SPEAKER_01: They should keep their rate, you know, as long as they can.
22:24
SPEAKER_01: But uh, but yeah, we're full service, and in our service I would put up against any other that's around because our mortgage officers, man, they communicate left and right.
22:34
SPEAKER_01: It's a very uh stressful time for a lot of people, you know, the mortgage process because they make you jump through hoops, you have to prove you're not spending your money, you have to, you know, all the different things you have to do.
22:44
SPEAKER_01: But our folks will walk them through at police mortgage, you know, step by step and hold their hand as they need it, you know, to get them through the process and get them the great rate.
22:53
SPEAKER_00: Right.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: George, if you want to jump in on this, uh speaking of documentation for mortgages or auto loans, is there any recommendation?
23:00
SPEAKER_00: A lot of our members and a lot of y'all's members also work off-duty employment.
23:03
SPEAKER_00: Off-duty employment typically sometimes just plays, you know, those are the cash uh gas stations or restaurants at night.
23:10
SPEAKER_00: What what is there any recommendation for uh proof of employment or proof of of uh uh expenditures from that standpoint?
23:18
SPEAKER_00: Is there a recommendation from National Police Federal Credit Union?
23:22
SPEAKER_02: Well, I know a lot of the officers out here in Texas um use something called roll call.
23:28
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
23:28
SPEAKER_02: Uh to do their you know after hours type of side jobs and stuff like that.
23:33
SPEAKER_02: We've utilized them before uh as far as being able to add that to their additional income uh to support their the the lending process.
23:44
SPEAKER_02: So um, you know, typically I would say um somebody who's got you know great credit, uh for the most part, we're not gonna really make them jumping hoops or anything like that.
23:54
SPEAKER_02: It it's typically when we do need uh additional paperwork, you know, we'll catch or uh obviously anything that you can provide that's gonna support what you're uh including in your income.
24:07
SPEAKER_02: It's helpful, sometimes it will ask for you know tax returns, depending on just the situation.
24:13
SPEAKER_02: Every situation's a little bit different, but for the most part, you know, we'll find a way to assist the bumper.
24:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, no doubt, no doubt.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: Well, and I you you you bring up a good point.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: People don't realize to the 22-year-old new officer, I don't want to say that I don't want to say the word rookie, but the the the new officer on patrol right now, the 22, 23, that's just starting a family.
24:33
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna put this in perspective.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: And you guys being financial uh guys may give me a number.
24:38
SPEAKER_00: One percent I I would guesstimate the average home in Texas right now is probably three hundred thousand dollars, three fifty.
24:46
SPEAKER_00: George, is that you being in Texas, is that about accurate on a statewide level?
24:50
SPEAKER_00: Or is that kind of high?
24:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
24:53
SPEAKER_02: No, I would say that that's about right.
24:54
SPEAKER_00: All right, so on a three hundred thousand dollar mortgage, one percent over thirty years would save you how much?
25:02
SPEAKER_00: Oh, just literally tens of thousands.
25:05
SPEAKER_00: Tens of thousands of dollars.
25:06
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
25:07
SPEAKER_00: So that's significant, right?
25:08
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you're looking at a 30-year note for a 22-year-old kid.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: I'll I'll call him a kid because I'm 41 now, but that's huge.
25:15
SPEAKER_00: And I think that that's also confirmation of why it's important to have these partnerships in place.
25:19
SPEAKER_00: And and it's it's the added benefits of being a member with TMPA.
25:22
SPEAKER_00: It gets you also the opportunity to be a member with you guys.
25:25
SPEAKER_00: And the reality is this, is that you guys, uh it's not just that we we we we picked a random police credit union and formed this partnership, we vetted you guys.
25:33
SPEAKER_00: We there's a long process in order to be sponsored or partnered with TMPA, and you guys had hit all those check marks to include being going before our board of directors.
25:43
SPEAKER_00: And so my recommendation or advice out there is that if you are a TMPA member and you do not have a bank or that you you have one, but give them an opportunity, right?
25:52
SPEAKER_00: Give them an opportunity to to earn your business because of the partnership that we they have with TMPA.
25:57
SPEAKER_00: For sure.
25:58
SPEAKER_01: So for sure.
25:59
SPEAKER_01: I mean, we it's been a great partnership.
26:01
SPEAKER_01: We love being your benefit.
26:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
26:03
SPEAKER_01: You know, we're a benefit to your members, and that's we take that very seriously.
26:07
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
26:08
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we know that you have a reputation uphold.
26:10
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, we're proud to partner with the TMPA.
26:13
SPEAKER_01: We know we can see as well in looking at the partnership, you really do take care of your members and your great organization, and that's why you're leading in the state of Texas.
26:22
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no doubt.
26:23
SPEAKER_00: No doubt.
26:24
SPEAKER_00: George, is there anything else you wanted to kind of finish up on or touch on uh during this episode?
26:28
SPEAKER_00: Or you think we covered all the basis?
26:31
SPEAKER_02: Well, I I I would like to uh share my information if I could.
26:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, for sure.
26:35
SPEAKER_02: I'm the the the local guy here.
26:38
SPEAKER_02: Uh obviously, if uh if any TNPA member needs assistance in any way whatsoever with the finances, uh definitely feel free to you know hit me up.
26:47
SPEAKER_02: Uh you're gonna find our information through the TMPA website.
26:51
SPEAKER_02: Um but aside from that, you know, you can obviously go straight to our website at police.com.
26:57
SPEAKER_02: Uh as uh as Tyler mentioned, I'm in Testament, uh I'm actually in Commerce French.
27:03
SPEAKER_02: Uh our address here is 13465 Midway Road.
27:07
SPEAKER_02: Uh and we are um just north at the 635.
27:12
SPEAKER_02: Uh but uh we're very TV.
27:14
SPEAKER_02: You know, you can definitely reach us.
27:16
SPEAKER_02: Uh we take appointments, uh, and if uh for some reason, you know, uh you're not able to come out here, uh, you definitely can contact me through email, phone number.
27:27
SPEAKER_02: Uh I'm sure we can include that as that information.
27:30
SPEAKER_02: And uh, you know, feel free to reach out to me if I can help in any way.
27:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no doubt, no doubt.
27:35
SPEAKER_00: And I'll also put Jim's information uh there on the screen real quick.
27:38
SPEAKER_00: You being out of Chicago, uh, you know, it but you if George is busy or or or or has something going on, you know, that's again the response uh of y'all's entire team.
27:48
SPEAKER_00: Miss Debbie, I'm not sure where she's based out of, but she actually lives in Florida.
27:51
SPEAKER_00: Okay, wow, okay.
27:52
SPEAKER_00: Well, yeah again, the uh the response is is just it's it really is incredible.
27:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, she's the spouse of a retired Chicago.
27:58
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: So she gets it.
28:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you understand and move to Florida, but I can't blame her there.
28:03
SPEAKER_01: Another thing I wanted to cover is convenience.
28:05
SPEAKER_01: A lot of times people ask, hey, are you guys just online or do you have brick and mortar?
28:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but something's unique to the credit union world called stair branches.
28:13
SPEAKER_01: So, what that is, you can't open an account of these sister credit unions.
28:17
SPEAKER_01: There are other credit union branches that are part of the network.
28:19
SPEAKER_01: But once you've opened it, you can go in there and say, hey, I've got an account with National Please photo credit union in your account number and ID.
28:25
SPEAKER_01: Okay, they'll pull it up real time, just like you're in our brain.
28:28
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
28:28
SPEAKER_01: Deposits, withdrawals, loan payments, transfers, basically service your account of fees.
28:34
SPEAKER_01: And not yo pay a fee to do it.
28:36
SPEAKER_01: Um, it's all real time, like I said, just like you're in our brand.
28:39
SPEAKER_01: There's over 5,000 locations nationwide, but there's 286 locations state of Texas.
28:45
SPEAKER_00: But you have to get one open with you guys first in order to take advantage of those.
28:49
SPEAKER_00: Is there a website that you can go on to to identify the map of uh these certain locations of Texas?
28:54
SPEAKER_01: There's actually a locator right on our website.
28:56
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
28:57
SPEAKER_01: So you can put in your zip code or you can put in your address, and it'll tell you within a 15-mile radius and 50 mile radius which ones are around.
29:04
SPEAKER_01: It's good enough.
29:05
SPEAKER_01: We also have a ton of full service uh ATMs um that are out there for surcharge-free ATM withdrawal access.
29:12
SPEAKER_01: We've got a lot with over 80,000 nationwide.
29:15
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we're part of the co-op network, which includes other credit unions that are part of the network, but then we're also part of all point.
29:20
SPEAKER_01: So that includes um Walgreens, CVS, Target, um, Costco, Speedway, like there's just tons and tons of locations where you can use our debit card and not pay fee to get your money out.
29:34
SPEAKER_01: But one other difference about us and other credit unions is that um you don't have to have a checking account to get a debit card with the Visa logo on it.
29:42
SPEAKER_01: Um, you can just have a savings account with this, and we will still give you that um one if you can make purchases with it.
29:48
SPEAKER_01: Just with your savings account, you don't have to have a checking account.
29:51
SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's pretty interesting.
29:53
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
29:54
SPEAKER_00: Some facts about National Place Pro Free.
29:56
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna look that up in a minute because uh I've got a good phone that works at a creature.
30:00
SPEAKER_00: Here in Central Texas and uh out of Dripping Springs.
30:02
SPEAKER_00: And uh he was asked about you guys the other day, and I was like, I didn't this first time.
30:06
SPEAKER_00: Uh well, I'm sure George reminded me in in previous meetings, but I was unaware.
30:10
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna check and make sure his credit union is a part of that partnership because if he's if it's not, we're gonna get him signed up.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: All right.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: Sounds good.
30:17
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, hey, we're gonna put all their information there at the bottom.
30:20
SPEAKER_00: Jim, what were those dates again for the high-speed chase?
30:23
SPEAKER_01: High speed chase.
30:23
SPEAKER_01: So it's Monday, November 17th through Thursday, November 20th.
30:27
SPEAKER_01: That's 5 p.m., Thursday, November 20th.
30:30
SPEAKER_01: You gotta have your loan application.
30:31
SPEAKER_01: And if you don't have a membership yet, you want to go on and get signed up to membership now because you have to be a member in order to be able to take advantage of that.
30:39
SPEAKER_01: But as long as you apply for that high-speed chase loan and you're approved for it during that time, you'll get that rate, even if it doesn't get dispersed, say, for a few weeks later.
30:49
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
30:49
SPEAKER_00: There you go, right before Black Friday.
30:51
SPEAKER_00: So any of these you guys or ladies out there that are looking at getting your spouse a Black Friday vehicle, get your applications in before that date and go ahead, and that way you'll have the thing signed, sealed, and delivered on the Black Friday day for upcoming at Christmas.
31:05
SPEAKER_00: So go.
31:06
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, I think we covered it all.
31:08
SPEAKER_00: Uh, George, if you want to, is there anything else we did we didn't cover?
31:12
SPEAKER_02: No, I I I think uh we covered enough.
31:15
SPEAKER_02: Uh thank you for having us.
31:16
SPEAKER_02: I really appreciate it.
31:17
SPEAKER_02: I appreciate the uh the partnership that we have for you and uh with you.
31:22
SPEAKER_02: And so like I said, if anybody needs a discount place up, uh be more than happy to sit here.
31:27
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no doubt, man.
31:28
SPEAKER_00: It was a great episode, and again, it was great seeing Jim again.
31:31
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I guess the next time we'll see each other, most likely will be the next TNBA conference, which is gonna be in Dallas, by the way, if you guys were unaware.
31:37
SPEAKER_00: George, you'll be happy about that.
31:38
SPEAKER_00: It's just right down the road from where you're at from where you stay at.
31:42
SPEAKER_00: And so it'll be there at downtown uh and downtown reunion tower again.
31:45
SPEAKER_00: So, anyway, hey, again, go to their website, check it out.
31:49
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna put everything right here on the screen and check out the summary information for National Police Federal Credit Union.
31:55
SPEAKER_00: Great partnership, great friends with TNPA, and because you are a TNPA member, you're eligible to join them.
32:00
SPEAKER_00: Again, go to the website, take advantage of these opportunities, and again, the high speed chase is November 17th through the 20th.
32:07
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
32:08
SPEAKER_00: Hey, you guys take care, stay safe.
32:10
SPEAKER_00: God bless you, and as always, may God bless Texas.
32:13
SPEAKER_00: We're out of the way.