Liberty Federal Credit Union has been named the 2023 Credit Union of the Year by the National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU). The trade organization, which represents more than 4,700 credit unions nationwide, acknowledged Liberty FCU for “remarkable, quantifiable success in meeting its members’ needs.” In announcing the award, NAFCU recognized Liberty FCU’s exemplary return to its members, financial performance, and involvement within the communities it serves. “We’re humbled by this honor. But, more importantly, we are proud that our continued success has allowed us to provide a higher financial return to both our members and the community,” said Bill Schirmer, Liberty FCU President and CEO, about the award.

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The award is in recognition of Liberty Federal Credit Union’s notable achievements during 2022—a year during which the credit union underwent a name change in order to better serve its entire membership. Liberty Federal Credit Union highlights from 2022 include:

The credit union returned more value to its membership than ever before. For instance, the credit union returned $15.5 million through checking accounts alone in the form of dividends, ATM fee reimbursements, and reward points. This is a 19 percent increase over the credit union’s previous record of $13 million for value returned to members through checking accounts.
It was named Best Credit Union for Checking by Investopedia. Its flagship Vertical Checking account was named Best High-Yield Checking account by Newsweek, which also named Liberty as one of the nation’s forty top financial institutions.
In total, Liberty FCU ranked 29^th out of all credit unions nationally in Return to Savers according to Callahan & Associates.
More members trusted Liberty FCU for first mortgage originations in 2022 than any other financial institution in the Evansville MSA. According to the American Credit Union Mortgage Association, Liberty ranked first among all credit unions in its region in first mortgage originations, and it ranked 19^th With total year-end assets of $3.45 billion, Liberty was the only credit union among the top 20 smaller than $7.9 billion.
According to Callahan & Associates, Liberty FCU ranked 13^th among all credit unions nationwide in Return to Borrowers in 2022.
For the first time in its history, Liberty FCU surpassed the $1 million threshold in community involvement through sponsorships, scholarships, and donations.

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“Over the past year, they went above and beyond for their members and have had a remarkable impact on their communities,” said NAFCU Awards Committee Chair Eli Vazquez. Liberty FCU now has 29 branches after opening an office in Jasper, Indiana, in early August. A 30^th location is expected to open in Nolensville, Tennessee, in October. The credit union’s 11 other Indiana offices are in Evansville (6 branches, including the main campus on Theater Drive), Fort Branch, Mount Vernon, Princeton, Vincennes, and Washington. In Tennessee, five additional offices are in Franklin (two), Murfreesboro, Spring Hill, and Thompson’s Station. In Kentucky, locations include Bowling Green (2 offices), Henderson, Louisville (6 offices) and Owensboro (2 offices).

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Liberty FCU’s growth to $3.8 billion in assets has been largely driven by its free Vertical Checking account, which pays 3.45% APY on deposits up to $20,000. Vertical Checking has been recognized by Forbes, Investopedia, and Kiplinger Personal Finance. Most recently, it was named America’s Best High-Yield Checking Account by Newsweek.