Image of Valley Strong Ballpark via Visalia Rawhide.

Bakersfield-based Valley Strong Credit Union is expanding to Kings County with a May 20 opening date. This will be the credit union’s 32nd branch, to be located at 216 W 8th St. in Hanford.

Valley Strong Credit Union has more than 360,000 members and nearly $4 billion in assets.

Valley Strong business loan products include lines of credit, commercial real estate financing (owner-occupied and investor), equipment and machinery financing, business acquisition loans, term loans, and SBA loans.

 

In 2023, Valley Strong provided 246 micro business loans under $50,000, for a total of $2.6 million. For small business loans over $50,000, there were 85 loans for a total of $62.5 million, according to their annual impact report.

The credit union expanded outside of Kern County for the first time in 2020, opening two branches in Tulare and Porterville. In 2022 came Visalia and Dinuba locations.

Valley Strong Credit Union was established in 1938 at Bakersfield High School. In 2020, it rebranded from Kern Schools Federal Credit Union.

In 2021 Valley Strong Ballpark was born in Visalia as the home of the Rawhide baseball team — product of a naming rights deal.