Dear Members:
I’m excited to announce that Corporate One has recently made two new strategic investments in credit union service organizations (CUSOs) that align with our mission of helping credit unions succeed through collaborative solutions and strengthen our commitment to innovation.
CU Realty Investors One, LLC (CURIO)
CURIO is a CUSO that specializes in sale-leaseback transactions for credit union-occupied real estate nationwide. Through this model, credit unions can unlock capital tied up in owned real estate while maintaining uninterrupted operations through long-term lease agreements. CURIO also allows credit unions to participate as investors and lenders, helping keep the economic benefits of these transactions within the credit union system.
Why This Investment?
As we learned more about CURIO, it became clear that this is far more than a real estate investment. It is a collaborative solution that helps strengthen credit unions by providing an additional tool to improve liquidity, optimize capital, and fund future growth initiatives. Participating credit unions can use sale-leaseback transactions to redeploy capital into lending, technology, branch optimization, CUSO investments, and other strategic priorities while continuing to operate from the same facilities.
What attracted us most is that CURIO was built specifically for credit unions. Unlike traditional real estate investors, CURIO is owned by credit unions and focuses on maintaining cooperative alignment throughout the transaction process. This approach helps ensure that the benefits remain within the industry while providing investors with stable quarterly distributions supported by long-term lease income from well-capitalized credit union tenants.
Today, CURIO has almost $124 million in equity, owns credit union properties across multiple states, and includes a diverse group of credit union investors from around the country. They have executed sale-leaseback transactions ranging in size from approximately $5 million to $90 million and include both single-property and multi-property portfolios. The organization continues to see strong demand as credit unions look for innovative ways to manage capital and position themselves for future growth.
Tru Treasury
Tru Treasury delivers the strategy, infrastructure, and operational support needed for credit unions to attract, win, and serve commercial clients – without adding internal complexity. From strategy to servicing, Tru Treasury provides the expertise, tools, and hands-on support credit unions need to expand into business banking with confidence.
Why This Investment?
This investment aligns closely with Corporate One's strategic priorities and complements our existing investment in our wholly owned CUSO Lucro Commercial Solutions. Together, these organizations help address both sides of a credit union's business services strategy: Lucro focuses on commercial lending solutions, while Tru Treasury focuses on commercial deposit and treasury management solutions. By supporting both organizations, Corporate One is helping credit unions strengthen their relationships with business members across their borrowing, cash management, and payment needs.
The investment also aligns well with our long-term payments strategy. As Corporate One continues building our next-generation payments hub and expanding business payment capabilities, treasury management services will become increasingly important. We believe Tru Treasury can help accelerate the delivery of modern commercial payment and treasury solutions to credit unions while strengthening their ability to compete with larger financial institutions for business relationships and deposits.
Going forward, Corporate One will work closely with both CURIO and Tru Treasury to support their continued growth and identify opportunities to connect their capabilities with the evolving needs of our members. These investments reflect our broader commitment to advancing collaborative, credit union-owned solutions that help strengthen liquidity, expand business services, support payments innovation, and create long-term value for the credit union system.