Redwood Credit Union

What Redwood Credit Union does

Redwood Credit Union (RCU) is a member-owned financial cooperative chartered in California and headquartered in Santa Rosa, serving Northern California communities through 22 physical branches spanning the Bay Area, Napa, Sebastopol, and surrounding regions. Founded in 1950, RCU operates as a full-service credit union offering deposit accounts, consumer lending, mortgage lending, small business banking, and commercial real estate financing. The institution holds the #1 SBA 504 lender ranking in Northern California and serves more than 21,000 local businesses alongside its consumer membership base, with reported total assets of $9.9 billion as of March. RCU's go-to-market is relationship-driven and sales-led, emphasizing direct, personalized service through its branch network rather than digital acquisition, and it is led by CEO Brett Martinez with an executive team spanning Chief Lending, Chief Administrative/SVP Retail Lending, Chief Financial and Risk, and Chief Operating Officer roles.

The credit union generates operating income through traditional banking mechanics: net interest income on its loan and securities portfolios, deposit service fees, and SBA program-related fee income. Its small business lending franchise—anchored by the SBA 504 program—is the primary differentiator against consumer-only digital competitors, providing commercial real estate and equipment financing to local Northern California businesses. Community engagement is central to RCU's positioning: the institution operates the Redwood Credit Union Community Fund, partners with Redwood Empire Food Bank (surpassing $1 million in cumulative support), funds youth music education through annual Birthday Benefit Bash events, and was recognized by Newsweek in 2026 as one of America's Greatest Midsize Workplaces for Women. The institution does not disclose product-level technology, APIs, or digital platform capabilities in available materials, indicating a branch-and-relationship-centric operating model rather than a digital-native one.

Name

Redwood Credit Union

Legal name

Redwood Credit Union

Website

https://redwoodcu.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Redwood Credit Union is a California-based member-owned credit union operating 22 branches across the Bay Area, serving 21,000+ local businesses and consumer members with deposits, lending, and SBA 504 financing as the #1 SBA 504 lender in Northern California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Banking

NAICS

Credit Unions (522130), Depository Credit Intermediation (5221)

SIC

Savings Institution, Federally Chartered (6035), Mortgage Bankers & Loan Correspondents (6162)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Credit Unions (Retail/Consumer Focus) (FSABAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cooperative Banks (Member-Owned Commercial/Retail) (FSABAEAF), Employer/Occupational Credit Unions (FSABAEAB)

Keywords

• Credit union services
• Small business lending
• SBA 504 loans
• Consumer banking
• Mortgage lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Rosa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Banking and Lending Services: Traditional credit union revenue model including deposit services, lending products (including SBA 504 loans), and financial services. Serves as depository institution for members with checking, savings, and loan products.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Redwood Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative providing consumer and business banking services across Northern California through 22 branches. Core offerings include deposit accounts (checking, savings), SBA 504 lending (where it is the #1 lender in Northern California), business banking for local small businesses, mortgage lending, and personal loans. The institution also operates the Redwood Credit Union Community Fund for charitable giving.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SBA 504 Lending

Quantifiable outcome

• $9.9 billion in assets demonstrates scale and stability
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Redwood Empire Food BankcoreOthersLong-term community partnership supporting hunger relief in Northern California. RCU has surpassed $1 million in cumulative support including monetary donations, volunteer hours, and food drives. In 2025 alone, contributions provided 282,000 meals.
• Santa Rosa SymphonyminorOthersYouth music education program recipient. Proceeds from RCU's Birthday Benefit Bash are distributed through the Redwood Credit Union Community Fund to support music education in the North Bay.
• Napa Valley Education FoundationminorOthersYouth music education program recipient. Receives funding through RCU's Community Fund from annual Birthday Benefit Bash events supporting educational programs in Napa Valley.
• Marin Girls ChorusminorOthersYouth music education program recipient in Marin County. Beneficiary of Birthday Benefit Bash fundraising through Redwood Credit Union Community Fund.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bank of America: National bank with deep Bay Area retail and small-business banking presence; a broad incumbent competitor overlapping with RCU on deposits, consumer lending, and SMB services.
• Wells Fargo: Major U.S. commercial bank with extensive Bay Area branch presence and small-business banking franchise; competes with RCU for the same SMB and consumer deposit pool but offers a much broader product portfolio.

Direct peers

• Golden 1 Credit Union: Large California-based credit union with multi-billion-dollar assets serving consumer and small-business members statewide; directly comparable in scale, member-owned model, and California geographic footprint to RCU.
• Patelco Credit Union: Bay Area-headquartered credit union serving consumers and small businesses across Northern California; overlaps directly with RCU in geography, member base, and small-business lending orientation.
• San Francisco Federal Credit Union: Bay Area community credit union offering consumer and business banking; comparable to RCU in regional footprint and member-owned cooperative model.
• Travis Credit Union: Northern California community credit union serving consumers and small businesses across the Bay Area and beyond; similar member-owned structure and small-business banking focus.
• SAFE Credit Union: California-based credit union offering consumer, mortgage, and small-business banking; comparable in product breadth and member-owned cooperative model.
• SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union: Large California-based credit union with multi-billion-dollar assets serving a defined membership group; comparable in cooperative structure and product mix to RCU.
• First Tech Federal Credit Union: Large US credit union with strong digital and small-business capabilities; comparable to RCU in member-owned cooperative model and emphasis on relationship banking.
• Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU): Large member-owned credit union with consumer and small-business lending across multiple states; comparable in cooperative structure and lending product set.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/redwoodcu
• Facebookfacebook.com/redwoodcu
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/35330

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Redwood Credit Union