Credit unions, not-for-profit financial institutions owned by their members, may be among the safest financial institutions in the nation, despite our nation’s current economic struggles. And as a result, they are gaining recognition among consumers as well as on Capitol Hill for not only having avoided the problems that created today’s financial mess, but for being a huge part of the solution.
“In the wake of the Lehman Bros. and Merrill Lynch debacles, many consumers are becoming more and more concerned about the financial soundness of their financial institutions,” said Guy M. Hood, President/CEO of the Florida Credit Union League (FCUL). “Where some financial institutions are reeling from the economy, credit unions are not. There has also been some hype about money in credit unions being unsafe, when, in fact, it is just as safe being insured with the National Credit Union Association (NCUA) as money with FDIC.” Credit union deposits, called shares, are insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), a federal agency offering deposit account coverage just like the FDIC, to at least $100,000 per insured account. Although there have been many news that have focused exclusively on FDIC insurance at banks the federal insurance provided by NCUA for credit unions has often been overlooked.
Recent segments on CNN and other news shows as well as an article in Politico magazine on Capitol Hill recognized credit unions as strong and secure institutions that avoided the bad lending practices that caused today’s financial crisis. [Read story at ThePineHillNews.com].
Posted by firstent
at 12:01 AM PDT
Updated: Thursday, 2 October 2008 7:51 AM PDT
