Citadel Credit Union, the $6.9 billion institution headquartered in Exton, will open a third Philadelphia branch in 2027 after signing a lease at 133 W. Hunting Park Ave. in North Philadelphia.

The Aug. 11 announcement caps a rapid city push for the Chester County credit union: Citadel opened its first Philadelphia location in Overbrook Park in January 2026 and plans to open a second at 4900 Baltimore Ave. in Cedar Park later this year. The Hunting Park branch means three city locations in under two years for an institution that still operates 11 of its 25 total branches in Chester County.

Citadel is developing the Hunting Park site in partnership with Esperanza, a Hispanic faith-based nonprofit that owns the building and has served the neighborhood for 40 years. The branch will offer personal and business banking, mortgage lending, financial counseling and community programming, according to Citadel's announcement.

"Partnering with Esperanza means we're not arriving as an outside institution," President and CEO Bill Brown said in the announcement. "We're coming in as neighbors, ready to listen and grow alongside the people we're here to serve."

Rev. Luis Cortés Jr., Esperanza's founder and CEO, said the branch gives residents "a place to build wealth in their own neighborhood." Esperanza, founded in 1986, has invested more than $300 million in Hunting Park community resources and employs 750 people, according to the press release.

More than 17,000 Citadel members already live, work or study in North Philadelphia, the credit union said.

Why the expansion matters locally

The Philadelphia push follows a broader growth strategy. In March, Citadel converted from a community charter to a Federal Multiple Common Bond charter, broadening membership eligibility across Pennsylvania and into neighboring states. Brown said in March, when announcing the charter conversion, that the goal was not "simply to be bigger" but "to be better, for our members, for our employees, and for the communities that place their trust in us," according to Vista Today.

The expansion also fulfills a requirement from Citadel's October 2024 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. According to the DOJ's announcement, federal investigators found that between 2017 and 2021, only 3% of Citadel's residential mortgage loans went to residents of majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, compared with 10% at similar institutions. The settlement required Citadel to invest more than $6.5 million in a loan subsidy fund and open three branches in predominantly Black and Hispanic Philadelphia neighborhoods.

The press release omits the settlement.

For the credit union's roughly 290,000 members, the growth signals financial stability. Citadel maintains its 11 Chester County branches, including locations across the West Chester and Exton corridors.

No specific 2027 opening date for the Hunting Park branch has been announced. Citadel plans to open the Cedar Park location at 4900 Baltimore Ave. later in 2026.