Del Norte Credit Union celebrates opening of Southern branch

RIO RANCHO — Del Norte Credit Union opened its second Rio Rancho location March 24 on Southern Boulevard.

President and CEO John Molenda and Chief Experience Officer Deb Salazar were excited to be opening.

“The whole of Rio Rancho is just an exciting place to be,” Molenda said.

The location will be familiar to the community, as it used to be the Washington Federal Bank.

“We learned almost two years ago that WaFed was vacating and moving somewhere else. So we came in kind of early and started asking, ‘Are you going to sell it?’ So we waited for over a year until we finally got a hold of somebody, and we started the process. We knew this was just a great location,” Salazar said.

She gestured to the Southern corridor, remarking that there is a mix of residential and business areas.

Despite many banking companies branching outside of New Mexico, according to Molenda, Del Norte wants to stay in New Mexico.

“It's kind of funny because we're a financial institution. We have all the products and services that banks have, but the real reason to join us is because of who we are, not what we do,” he said.

He said their mission is to improve people's lives, “and we do it through financial services and things like that, but improving lives and a lot of the large credit unions now are expanding and branching out of state.”

He added that people who go to the financial institution will be treated like family. 

“You go into some places, and they're trying to cross-sell everything and make all kinds of money. So having a kind of a non-biased financial institution treat you just like your brother or your sister, your family is so important, and that's the niche that we've done right,” he said.

In a release, Salazar states the expansion in Rio Rancho is more than just a new location.

“It’s a place where we can connect with our community and create more opportunities for people to thrive. Rio Rancho is close to our hearts, and we can’t wait for more people to experience the DNCU Difference,” she said.

On top of the opening, Del Norte Credit Union celebrated partnering with the New Mexico Goatheads, the state’s newest professional hockey team based in Rio Rancho.

“Partnering with the Goatheads is a natural fit for us,” Molenda stated in the release. “Hockey fans and credit unions share a similar DNA when it comes to teamwork, community and winning together. The Goatheads have an exciting year ahead, and we’re grateful to be part of it.”

The company gave the team a $2,500 check at the opening as well.

Additional information is available at dncu.com.