The leader of one of Georgia’s biggest credit unions is retiring

C. Lin Hodges, the longtime president and CEO of Associated Credit Union, will retire after 46 years with the Norcross-based financial institution.

Hodges will say goodbye to the role of CEO in July, a position he’s held for 18 years, the credit union said last week. Timothy G. Bridges, executive vice president and chief financial officer, was named his successor and has already stepped in as president.

Chartered in 1930, Associated Credit Union is one of the state’s largest credit unions. Today it has $2.2 billion in assets and more than 150,000 members, including Atlanta area companies such as Home Depot, which has an ACU branch inside its Vinings headquarters.

A credit union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative that is owned by its members and offers services like a traditional bank, such as accepting deposits and making loans.

Hodges joined ACU in 1980 after working as a community banker in Milledgeville, where he grew up. It was a challenging economic time and the credit union was struggling, he said.

“When I first came to work for the credit union, we were $50 million and effectively had zero capital,” he said in an interview. “We’re much bigger and much stronger now.”

During his tenure, Hodges led the credit union through the Great Recession, when Georgia had the highest number of bank failures in the nation. “What I’m proud of about this is: Not only did we manage through the Great Recession, but we did not lay off anybody and we continued to pay bonuses to our employees,” he said.

In 2009, Hodges launched the Associated Credit Union Foundation, which has donated $1.2 million and contributed more than 3,000 volunteer hours to local charities, according to the company.

Hodges, over the years, also helped shape the broader credit union landscape. He held leadership roles such as chairperson of Catalyst Corporate Federal Credit Union, a cooperative financial institution that serves credit unions.

Timothy G. Bridges, executive vice president and chief financial officer, has taken the role of president of Associated Credit Union. He will become CEO next summer. (Courtesy of Associated Credit Union)

Hodges called it bittersweet to depart ACU.

“It’s been just a joy to work at the credit union with such a wonderful team,” he said. “I don’t really look forward to leaving.”