Boston Firefighters' credit union to move into cop-heavy neighborhood

Boston Firefighters Credit Union has made plans to open in West Roxbury, down the road from a rival credit union that it fought in court earlier this year for the right to serve the city’s police officers.

Boston Firefighters filed notice with the Massachusetts Division of Banks late last month to open an office at 2029 Centre St. in West Roxbury, a neighborhood known for its high percentage of cop and firefighter residents. The location is a former Eastern Bank branch that closed earlier this fall.

President and CEO John “Bernie” Winne said the credit union has been actively looking for a space in or near West Roxbury for the past year and a half. The former Eastern branch is appealing because it is already built out as a financial institution and, at approximately 1,400 square feet, is a desirable size, he said. Should the Division of Banks allow the move, “we’ll be able to get in pretty quickly, without having to spend a whole lot of money,” Winne said. The location would be Boston Firefighters’ second. It currently has an office in Dorchester.

In February, a Superior Court judge confirmed that Boston Firefighters can accept Boston police officers and other law enforcement personnel as members, after the City of Boston Credit Union sought a court order prohibiting its rival from opening its ranks. State regulators had previously approved of the expanded membership.

Since the beginning of the year, Boston Firefighters’ membership had surged nearly 10 percent as of September, from 7,030 to 7,693 members. Its total assets are up nearly as much, by about 8 percent, to $226 million. The City of Boston Credit Union’s membership ranks have also increased, though by a smaller percentage. The City of Boston Credit Union has an office less than half a mile down the road from the proposed Boston Firefighters location, on Spring Street.

Winne said that while law enforcement officers have formed a portion of the new membership this year, the new members also include new Boston firefighters, firefighters elsewhere in the state, and families of firefighters. He downplayed any fight for customers between the West Roxbury branches, saying Boston Firefighters has long known it would eventually need a second location. “We’re not trying to take business away,” he said. “What we’re doing is trying to provide an alternative to police officers who value the way we do business."