While many banks have been contracting and consolidating branches because more transactions have shifted online, Achieva Credit Union has been bucking that trend by expanding.  

Founded in 1937 in Pinellas County by seven school teachers who were denied a loan, Achieva since has branched out to serve not just teachers but anybody within the communities it serves.  

By the end of the year, Achieva intends to expand from 11 branches to 14 south of St. Petersburg’s Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge. All three of the new branches will be in Southwest Florida.  

By October, Achieva’s newest branch should be open at 3031 SW Pine Island Road in Cape Coral, said Susan Lacey, who as Achieva’s market president, oversees all of the branches south of the Skyway Bridge.  

“We are very, very much in a growth mode,” Lacey said. “Our strategic plan is to open two new branches a year. Achieva is very much a leader in providing all options for all members.  

Some banks are going toward all technology. If you go all technology, you don’t need all the branches, but we do both. We have state-of-the-art technology, but we also are expanding our brick-and-mortar locations.”  

By the end of the year, Collier County will be getting two new branches, both of which will be a part of shopping centers.  

One will be at 4338 Thomasson Drive in Shoppes at Hammock Cove in East Naples. The other will be at 6435 Naples Blvd. in North Naples. 

“We’re crossing our fingers,” Lacey said of the timing. “We are in permitting now. Neither one of these is a buildup. These are remodels. It will be three to four months once we get our permitting. So, we’re hoping by the end of the year.”  

Achieva bought the Cape Coral land in July 2015 for $791,966 in preparation for future development. Eight years later, the future has arrived.  

“There are a lot of opportunities in those areas,” Lacey said of Cape Coral and Naples. She explained why Achieva has been able to expand and why many other banks have not.  

“We don’t have shareholders,” she said. “Our members own us. Our members have voting rights. Any money we make goes into our foundation. We support our schools. That was our heritage.”  

Not having to please shareholders means Achieva could focus on offering better loan rates and higher dividend rates than typical banks, Lacey said.  

“We’re not a nonprofit,” Lacey said, “but we’re not-for-profit. We’re very responsible with our members’ money. It’s our members’ money.”