Founded in 1955, Merrimack Valley Credit Union (MVCU) is a state-chartered community credit union with over $2.4 billion in assets. Our Corporate Office is located in Lawrence, Massachusetts. We currently serve over 115,000 members in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, offering a wide range of savings and loan products, commercial services and digital banking to meet the financial needs of our growing member base. Our network of twenty-eight branches stretching from New Hampshire through Massachusetts down to Rhode Island comprise nineteen community branches and nine workplace branches.
We are focused on serving families, individuals and businesses with the credit union philosophy of "people helping people". We believe in giving back to the communities we serve and demonstrate our commitment through our sponsorships of non-profit organizations, employee volunteer program, and financial literacy initiatives.
Our dedicated Board of Directors & Management team puts you first in all we do.
1955: MVCU is founded as the Communications Workers Employee Credit Union by Union Local 1365 in North Andover, MA. The name quickly changed to Merrimack Valley Credit Union. G. Harvey Ellis was our first General Manager.
1962: We reached the $1 million in assets milestone! Duncan MacLeod is now the General Manager.
1990s: Our field of membership opened up to serve more than 200 employer groups in the Merrimack Valley as well as their family members.
2005: MVCU converted to a community charter, allowing us to serve eligible members in the Merrimack Valley. Peter J. Matthews Jr. is the President & CEO.
2007: Our Corporate Office moved to Lawrence, MA, and we have five branches.
2016: We opened our sixth branch in Seabrook, NH.
2018: MVCU became a state-chartered credit union.
2019: MVCU merged with Bridgewater Credit Union, allowing us to serve members both in the Merrimack Valley and the south-shore region of Massachusetts. John J. Howard became our President & CEO.
2020: MVCU merged with the Ocean Spray Employees Federal Credit Union, expanding our field of membership to include all Ocean Spray employees and contract growers.
2021: MVCU expanded the field of membership to include additional counties in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
2023: MVCU merged with RTN Federal Credit Union to welcome 40,000 additional members of RTN's Select Employer Groups and community members.
We are a financially sound and well-capitalized credit union. What this means is that we can expand the products and services we offer to better fit your financial needs. Despite our growth, our passion for serving our members has never wavered. We have your best interest at heart!
News
Bridgewater Credit Union, A Division of Merrimack Valley Credit Union (MVCU), is excited to announce that the construction of its new Plymouth branch has entered its final stages. On Monday, April 15, the credit union’s leadership and management team gathered at the new branch, located at 59 Long Pond Road, to celebrate this milestone and observe current progress. “We look forward to continuing our longstanding and important relationship with the Plymouth community,” says MVCU Chief Retail Officer and Chief People Officer Nicole James.
Merrimack Valley Credit Union (MVCU) has donated $10,000 to Catie’s Closet, a nonprofit organization in Dracut Mass., to support their SOS Urgent Response program. Founded in 2009, Catie’s Closet provides clothes, toiletries and other essentials to students who cannot afford them by setting up secure stores (called closets) in schools. These closets offer these items at no cost to the children, enabling them to attend class and participate in school activities with dignity and confidence. Catie’s Closet currently operates in 130 schools throughout southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts, serving more than 90,000 students daily.
Merrimack Valley Credit Union (MVCU) recently sponsored a community meal at the Haverhill Citizen Center on Welcome Street. Every Monday, the nonprofit Community Meals, Inc. serves meals prepared by a local chef that are free to the public. Local organizations and businesses sponsor these weekly meals and provide volunteers. In addition to a monetary donation and bringing desserts, MVCU’s volunteers helped prepare and serve a meatloaf dinner to dozens of Haverhill community members throughout the evening.
On April 2, MVCU’s Assistant Vice President of Operations Helen Nazar celebrated her 40th work anniversary with the credit union. Helen’s career in banking began at her hometown bank, Hyde Park Savings, where she worked first as a teller and then as a customer service representative. Five years later, Nazar joined RTN Federal Credit Union (which merged with MVCU in 2023). As the credit union grew, Nazar worked in the ATM department and became an expert in electronic payments and automated clearing house (ACH) payments including Social Security deposits. This experience would lead her to her current role as one of the leaders of MVCU’s Operations department.
On Wednesday, March 13, Credit Union Times published an exclusive profile of Merrimack Valley Credit Union’s (MVCU) Executive Vice President, Chief Retail Officer and Chief People Officer Nicole James. The Q&A-style profile detailed James’ extensive experience as a credit union leader, the important lessons she has learned throughout her career and her big picture plans for the credit union community. James, who has worked in the credit union industry for more than three decades, joined MVCU following a merger with RTN Federal Credit Union in 2023.