A credit union is a member-owned financial cooperative, democratically controlled by its members, and operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit at competitive rates, and providing other financial services to its members.

State Employees' Credit Union (SECU) is a state chartered credit union headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina regulated under the authority of the Credit Union Division of the NC Department of Commerce.

SECU member deposits are insured by National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) of the U.S. federal government.

SECU is the second largest natural member credit union in the United States, both in asset size and in membership.

As of May 2014, SECU has $28.6 billion in assets, 1.9 million members, and 265 branches with locations in all of North Carolina's 100 counties.

Membership in the credit union is limited to employees of the state of North Carolina and their families.

A mortgage loan, also referred to as a mortgage, is used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate; or alternatively by existing property owners to raise funds for any purpose, while putting a lien on the property being mortgaged.

The loan is "secured" on the borrower's property.

This means that a legal mechanism is put in place which allows the lender to take possession and sell the secured property ("foreclosure" or "repossession") to pay off the loan in the event that the borrower defaults on the loan or otherwise fails to abide by its terms.

The word mortgage is derived from a "Law French" term used by English lawyers in the Middle Ages meaning "death pledge", and refers to the pledge ending (dying) when either the obligation is fulfilled or the property is taken through foreclosure.

Maryland is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east.

The state's largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis.

Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State.

The state is named after Henrietta Maria of France, the wife of Charles I of England.

A financial adviser (or advisor) is a professional who renders financial services to clients.

According to the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), terms such as financial adviser and financial planner are general terms or job titles used by investment professionals.

FINRA describes the main groups of investment professionals who may use the term financial adviser to be: brokers, investment advisers, accountants, lawyers, insurance agents and financial planners.