🔒Financial services: Aroostook-based credit union eyes continued expansion

The County Federal Credit Union, based in Presque Isle and formed in 1956 to serve military and civilians then working at the Loring Air Force Base, is gearing up for further expansion well beyond its northern roots. “Aroostook County is not growing, which is where we mainly operated from prior to 2020,” says Ryan Ellsworth, president and CEO. The credit union’s 2021 merger with Penobscot County Federal Credit Union gave it a foothold in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties, followed by the green light last August to expand its membership to 13 of Maine’s 16 counties. “We’d love to have all 16 counties,” Ellsworth says. With close to $492 million in assets as of Sept. 30, 2025, and staffed by 107 employees across eight locations, the County is ranked seventh among Maine-based credit unions in the 2026 Mainebiz Book of Lists. Ellsworth expects to stay busy on the hiring front. “I anticipate in the next two years we’ll be adding another six or seven jobs and continue growing from there,” he says. Over the next 12 to 18 months, the credit union aims to find a larger headquarters in Presque Isle, where its home office is so full that it’s renting a basement office in the Aroostook Center Mall for 10 employees. Eyeing the industry as a whole, Ellsworth foresees more mergers and acquisitions as many smaller credit unions struggle to achieve economies of scale. “You’ll see more consolidation, but you’ll end up with better credit unions in the end,” he says.