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A credit union is a cooperative financial institution that is privately owned and controlled by its members. There are two basic financial market participant categories Investor vs See Investor AB for the Swedish investment company An investor is any party that makes an Investment. A hedge fund is a private Investment fund open to a limited range of investors which is permitted by regulators to undertake a wider range of activities than other investment In Finance, private equity is an Asset class consisting of equity Securities in operating companies that are not Publicly traded on Venture capital (also known as VC or Venture) is a type of Private equity capital typically provided to immature high-potential growth companies Speculation, in a financial context is making an investment that increases the overall risk in a portfolio Institutional investors are organizations which pool large sums of money and invest those sums in companies A banker or bank is a Financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money A building society is a financial institution owned by its members, that offers banking and other Financial services, especially mortgage lending A trust company is a Corporation, especially a Commercial bank, organized to perform the Fiduciary functions of trusts and agencies A collective investment scheme is a way of investing money with other people to participate in a wider range of investments than those feasible for most individual investors Insurance, in Law and Economics, is a form of Risk management primarily used to hedge against the Risk of a contingent loss Investment banks profit from companies and governments by raising money through issuing and selling Securities in the Capital markets (both equity and A pension fund is a pool of assets forming an independent legal entity that are bought with the contributions to a Pension plan for the exclusive purpose of financing pension Prime brokerage is the generic name for a bundled package of services offered by Investment banks and securities firms to Hedge funds and other professional investors A trust company is a Corporation, especially a Commercial bank, organized to perform the Fiduciary functions of trusts and agencies The field of finance refers to the concepts of Time, Money and Risk and how they are interrelated In Economics, a financial market is a mechanism that allows people to easily buy and sell ( Trade) financial Securities (such as stocks and bonds There are two basic financial market participant categories Investor vs Corporate finance is an area of Finance dealing with the financial decisions Corporations make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions Personal finance is the application of the principles of Finance to the monetary decisions of an individual or family unit Public finance is a field of economics concerned with paying for collective or governmental activities and with the administration and design of those activities A banker or bank is a Financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money Financial regulations are a form of Regulation or supervision which subjects Financial institutions to certain requirements restrictions and guidelines aiming to In Financial economics, a financial institution acts as an agent that provides Financial services for its clients or members Credit unions differ from banks and other financial institutions in that the members who have accounts in the credit union are the owners of the credit union and they elect their board of directors in a democratic one person-one vote system regardless of the amount of money invested in the credit union. A banker or bank is a Financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money

Credit union policies governing interest rates and other matters are set by a volunteer Board of Directors elected by and from the membership itself. Interest is a fee paid on borrowed capital Assets lent include Money, Shares, Consumer goods through Hire purchase, major assets Only a member of a credit union may deposit money with the credit union, or borrow money from it. A deposit account is a current account at a Banking institution that allows money to be deposited and withdrawn by the account holder with the transactions and resulting balance Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts. A loan is a type of Debt. This article focuses exclusively on monetary loans although in practice any material object might be lent As such, credit unions have historically marketed themselves as providing superior member service and being committed to helping members improve their financial health.

Credit unions may be viewed as non-profit organizations, or alternatively as for-profit enterprises charged with making a profit for their members (who receive any profits earned by the cooperative in the form of reduced interest rates on loans, or as dividends paid on savings, which are taxed as ordinary income). Interest is a fee paid on borrowed capital Assets lent include Money, Shares, Consumer goods through Hire purchase, major assets Dividends are payments made by a Corporation to its Shareholder members

This debate reflects credit unions' unusual organizational structure, which attempts to solve the principal-agent problem by ensuring the owners and the users of the institution are the same people. In political science and Economics, the principal-agent problem or agency dilemma treats the difficulties that arise under conditions of incomplete and asymmetric In any case, credit unions generally cannot accept donations and must be able to prosper in a competitive market economy.

In the United States, credit unions typically pay higher dividend (interest) rates on shares (deposits) and charge lower interest on loans than banks. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Interest is a fee paid on borrowed capital Assets lent include Money, Shares, Consumer goods through Hire purchase, major assets A deposit account is a current account at a Banking institution that allows money to be deposited and withdrawn by the account holder with the transactions and resulting balance ^[1] Credit union revenues (from loans and investments) do, however, need to exceed operating expenses and dividends (interest paid on deposits) in order to maintain capital and solvency. Often credit unions have a lower cost of funds than typical commercial banks, due to a higher proportion of non/low interest bearing deposits.

Credit unions offer many of the same financial services as banks, often using a different terminology. Common services include: share accounts (savings accounts), share draft (checking) accounts, credit cards, share term certificates (certificates of deposit), and online banking. Savings accounts are accounts maintained by retail Financial institutions that pay Interest but can not be used directly as Money (by for example A transactional account ( North America: checking account or chequing account, United Kingdom and some other countries current account A credit card is part of a system of Payments named after the small Plastic card issued to users of the system A certificate of deposit or CD is a Time deposit, a financial product commonly offered to consumers by Banks thrift institutions, and Online banking (or Internet banking) allows customers to conduct financial transactions on a secure website operated by their retail or virtual Bank,

Credit unions exist in a wide range of sizes, ranging from volunteer operations with a handful of members to institutions with several billion dollars in assets and hundreds of thousands of members.

Global dispersion

Based on data from the World Council of Credit Unions, at the end of 2006 there were 46,377 credit unions in 97 countries around the world. The World Council of Credit Unions Inc (WOCCU is a worldwide representative organization and Lobbying agency for Credit unions. Collectively they served 172 million retail members and controlled US $1. 1 trillion in assets. ^[2] Note that the World Council does not include data from co-operative banks, so that for example some nations generally seen as the pioneers of credit unionism (including Germany, France, Holland and Italy) are not included in their data. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Holland is a region in the western part of the Netherlands. A maritime and economic power in the 17th century Holland today consists of the Dutch provinces of Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The European Association of Co-operative Banks reported 34 million members in these four countries at the end of 2005 ^[3]

The nations with the greatest credit union activity are highly diverse. The European Association of Co-operative Banks (EACB is the supranational body for co-operative banks with member national governing bodies in 23 countries and an associate member in Switzerland According to the World Council, nations with the greatest number of credit union members included the United States (87 million), India (20 million), Canada (11 million), South Korea (4. The Credit Union National Association, commonly known as CUNA (pronounced "Cue-Nuh" is a national Trade association for Credit unions located India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Credit Union Central of Canada is the national trade association for Credit unions in Canada outside Quebec South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː 7 million), Japan (3. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. 6 million), Mexico (3. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. 6 million), Australia (3. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. 5 million), Kenya (3. The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south 3 million), Ireland (3. Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU was set up by a small group of credit unions in 1960 to represent & service affiliated credit unions on the island of Ireland 0 million), Thailand and Brazil (2. The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld 6 million each). Countries with the highest percentage of members in the economically active population were Dominica (147% -- that is, the average person is a member of more than one credit union), Ireland (110%), Barbados (72%), Trinidad & Tobago (57%), Canada (48%), the United States (43%), Benin (27%), Australia (26%), Senegal and Mali (19% each). The Commonwealth of Dominica, commonly known as Dominica, is an Island nation in the Caribbean Sea. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Barbados ( Portuguese word for bearded-ones, bɑrˈbeɪdoʊz -dɒs situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent Island nation The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ˈtrɪnɪdæd ən təˈbeɪgoʊ is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Benin (bə'nɪn officially the Republic of Benin, and also known as Benin Republic, is a country in Western Africa. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Senegal (le Sénégal officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. Mali, officially the Republic of Mali (République du Mali is a Landlocked nation in Western Africa.

Membership restrictions

U. S. governmental regulatory agencies require that credit unions restrict their membership to defined segments of the population, such as people who live, work, worship, or attend school in a well-defined geographic area; employees of specific companies or trades; members of specific non-profit groups (alumni associations, conservation or other advocacy organizations, lodges, churches, or the like); or a particular occupational group (teachers, doctors, etc. ) In the U. S. , this is referred to as a credit union's "field of membership. " Internationally it is referred to as the 'common bond' or 'bond of association'. The Bond of Association was a document created in 1584 by Francis Walsingham and William Cecil, Lord Burghley after the failure of the Throckmorton

Mergers of smaller credit unions with disparate membership bases often result in a credit union with a wide variety of ways to qualify to join; thus, a credit union may have a much broader "field of membership" than that credit union's name would imply.

Credit unions generally follow the principle of "once a member, always a member," which allows current credit union membership to continue even if the individual would no longer qualify to be a member (such as having changed professions or moved outside the area). However, many credit unions reserve the right of expulsion against a member who causes a financial loss. [1] Some credit unions also have expelled members, including elected Board and Supervisory Committee volunteers, for making "whistleblower" complaints against credit union management. [2][3] [4]

If a member voluntarily terminates their membership, they may or may not be eligible to rejoin, depending on the credit union's policies and government regulations.

Credit unions may be chartered to serve a specific employee group (often called a Select Employee Group or SEG), but may, for example in the USA, be allowed to change their charter to a "Community Charter". A charter is the grant of authority or rights stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified Such a charter allows them to not only serve the original employee group, but anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school within a geographical field of membership. This can even be further extended to members' families or persons of close relation. In the US, this field of membership can then be expanded with the approval of the National Credit Union Administration or state regulator, and similar options are available in some other countries. The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA is the United States independent federal agency that supervises and charters federal Credit unions and

Credit union leagues and associations

Credit unions in the United States have traditionally employed a state/national trade association relationship that aligns credit unions with state “Credit Union Leagues” followed by national affiliation with the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) of Madison, Wisconsin. The Credit Union National Association, commonly known as CUNA (pronounced "Cue-Nuh" is a national Trade association for Credit unions located Madison is the capital of the US state of Wisconsin and the County seat of Dane County. Federal credit unions may also be members of the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU).

The biggest UK credit union trade association is the Association of British Credit Unions Limited, more commonly known as Association of British Credit Unions, ABCUL. Some Scottish credit unions are represented by the much smaller Scottish League of Credit Unions (SLCU) which has headquarters in Glasgow; however the overall majority of credit unions choose the main British Association.

Credit Union Central of Canada is the trade association for Canada's credit unions outside Quebec. Credit Union Central of Canada is the national trade association for Credit unions in Canada outside Quebec The Desjardins Group represents Quebec's credit unions. The Desjardins Group (or Mouvement des caisses Desjardins in French is the largest association of Credit unions in North America. Structurally, it blends the functions of a trade association and a more European-style cooperative bank. Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organized on a Cooperative basis

Corporate credit unions

The majority of credit unions are known as natural-person credit unions, and provide service to individual consumers. Corporate credit unions (also known as central credit unions in Canada) also exist, but instead serve the needs of credit unions with operational support, funds clearing tasks as well as product and service delivery. In effect, they serve as a credit union's credit union. The largest corporate credit union in the United States is U.S. Central Credit Union of Lenexa, Kansas, which serves as a central clearing house for corporate credit unions. US Central Federal Credit Union is the largest Corporate credit union in the United States Lenexa is a City in the central part of Johnson County, located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States of America. The two largest corporate credit unions that serve only natural-person credit unions are Western Corporate Federal Credit Union (WesCorp) in San Dimas, California and Southwest Corporate Federal Credit Union in Plano, Texas. San Dimas is a city located in Los Angeles County California. Plano (ˈpleɪnoʊ is a city in Collin and Denton Counties in the U

History

Main article: credit union history

Modern credit union history dates to 1852, when Franz Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch consolidated the learning from two pilot projects, one in Eilenburg and the other in Delitzsch in Germany into what are generally recognized as the first credit unions in the world. Credit unions are community-based Banks organized according to cooperative principles. Franz Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch ( August 29, 1808 - April 29, 1883) German Economist, was born at Delitzsch in Prussian Eilenburg (ˈaɪ̯lənbʊɐ̯k is a town in Germany. It lies in the district of Nordsachsen in the Free State of Saxony, approximately 20 km Delitzsch (ˈdeːlɪtʃ is a German city Saxony, near Leipzig. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. He went on to develop a highly successful urban credit union system. ^[4]

F. W. Raiffeisen

In 1864 Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen founded the first rural credit union in Heddesdorf (now part of Neuwied) in Germany. Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen ( May 3, 1818, Hamm (Sieg - March 11, 1888, Heddesdorf currently known as Neuwied, Neuwied (nɔʏˈviːt is a town in the north of the German state Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. ^[5] Although Schulze-Delitzsch can claim chronological precedence, Raiffeisen is often viewed as more important today. Rural communities in Germany faced a far more severe shortage of financial institutions than the cities. They were viewed as unbankable because of very small, seasonal flows of cash and very limited human resources. The organizational methods Raiffeisen refined there, which levered what is today called social capital, have become a hallmark of the global credit union identity. Social capital is a concept in business economics, Organizational behaviour, Political science, Public health, Sociology and natural

By the time of Raiffeisen's death in 1888 credit unions had spread to Italy, France, the Netherlands, England and Austria, among other nations. The Raiffeisen name is still used by Raiffeisenbank, the largest banking group in Austria (with subsidiaries throughout Central and Eastern Europe), Rabobank (Netherlands) and similarly-named agricultural credit unions in Germany. Raiffeisen Zentralbank is a Co-operative Bank based and founded in Austria and operating throughout central and eastern Europe. Rabobank (Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank BA

The first credit union in North America, the Caisse populaire de Lévis in Quebec, Canada, began operations on Jan. Lévis (officially Ville de Lévis (City of Lévis) is a city in eastern Quebec, Canada. 23rd, 1901 with a ten cent deposit. Founder Alphonse Desjardins, a reporter in the Canadian parliament, was moved to take up his mission in 1897 when he learned of a Montrealer who had been ordered by the court to pay nearly $5,000 in interest on a loan of $150 from a moneylender. For the 19th-century former mayor of Montreal see Alphonse Desjardins (politician Gabriel-Alphonse Desjardins ( November 5 Drawing extensively on European precedents, Desjardins developed a unique parish-based model for Quebec: the caisse populaire.

In the United States, St. Mary's Bank Credit Union of Manchester, NH holds the distinction as the first credit union. Manchester is the largest city in the US state of New Hampshire and the largest city of northern New England, an area composed of Vermont, Assisted by a personal visit from Desjardins, St. Mary's was founded by French-speaking immigrants to Manchester from Quebec on November 24, 1908. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk Year 1908 ( MCMVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year America's Credit Union Museum now occupies the location of the home from which St. America's Credit Union Museum is located in Manchester NH on the site of the first Credit union founded in the United States. Mary's Bank Credit Union first operated.

Pierre Jay, then Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks and Edward Filene, a Bostonian merchant, were central in establishing enabling legislation in Massachusetts in 1909. Pierre Jay ( May_4, 1892 &ndash November_24, 1949) was the first chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Edward Albert Filene ( September 3, 1860, Salem Massachusetts - September 26, 1937, Paris, France) was an Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting

Filene also created the Credit Union National Extension Bureau, the forerunner of the Credit Union National Association, which was formed as a confederation of state leagues at a meeting in Estes Park, Colorado in 1934. The Credit Union National Association, commonly known as CUNA (pronounced "Cue-Nuh" is a national Trade association for Credit unions located The Town of Estes Park is a Statutory Town located in Larimer County, Colorado ( USA) on the Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Attendees at the meeting included Dora Maxwell who would go on to help establish hundreds of credit unions and programs for the poor and Louise McCarren Herring, whose work to form credit unions and ensure their safe operation earned the title of “Mother of Credit Unions” in the United States. Dora Maxwell was an early credit union pioneer in New York state Louise McCarren Herring ( 20 September 1909 - 2 November 1987) an Ohio native is recognized as one of the pioneer leaders of the

In the same year, Congress passed the Federal Credit Union Act, which permitted credit unions to be organized anywhere in the United States. The Federal Credit Union Act is a United States federal law signed into law by President Franklin D The legislation allowed credit unions to incorporate under either state or federal law, a system of dual chartering that persists today. Dual chartering refers to the system by which Credit unions in the United States can be chartered under either of two governmental authorities by either the federal government

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom credit unions are regulated by the Financial Services Authority, or FSA. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Financial Services Authority ( "FSA") is an independent non-governmental body Quasi-judicial body and a company limited by guarantee that regulates UK credit unions are classified under two types: type 1 are the smaller CUs while type 2 are larger. From November 2006 many type 2 CUs began offering their members debit card accounts which enabled CU members to obtain funds from any Link ATM. UK credit unions do not offer cheques as these are generally being phased out in UK financial transactions. A cheque (spelled check in American English) is a Negotiable instrument instructing a Financial institution to pay a specific amount of

Credit unions in the UK now offer a wide range of services to their members; from direct debits to payroll deductions, from being able to send standing orders from their accounts to paying members bills to providing cheaper insurance facilities. Direct debit or direct withdrawal is a Payment system that allows an organisation to instruct their bank to collect varying amounts directly from customers' accounts

In the U. K. one of the benefits of joining a credit union is the life insurance CU's provide their members free of charge. Also, if a member were to die then their loan value is wiped out with no further charge to the member's account or their family; further, in many cases their savings with the CU are doubled and passed to the next of kin. As recent history has shown, with the Christmas savings club Farepak going bust and hundreds of customers losing all their savings, the CU is a real alternative for providing good savings rates and affordable loans, knowing that customers are protected if the worst happens.

Currently there is a government financial initiative mainly being operated by credit unions to bring financial services to the economically disadvantaged members of society. One aim is to significantly reduce the influence of door step lenders where a £300 loan over 30 weeks may involve paying back around £450; a credit union loan would typically require paying back around £325. A moneylender offers small Personal loans at high rates of interest, usually higher rates than the market rate charged on Credit cards or on

North American statistics

Credit unions are called caisses populaires in French-speaking communities of Canada. This one is located in Shediac, New Brunswick.

Canada has the highest per capita use of credit unions in North America, with more than a third of the population enrolled in one. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page (ref: World Council of Credit Unions) They are concentrated in Quebec, where they are known as caisses populaires (people's banks), and on the Western prairies. Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk As of Dec. 31 2006 there were 549 member caisses and 5. 8 million retail members in the Caisses Populaires Desjardins federation. The Desjardins Group (or Mouvement des caisses Desjardins in French is the largest association of Credit unions in North America. According to data from Credit Union Central of Canada on the same date there were 10. Credit Union Central of Canada is the national trade association for Credit unions in Canada outside Quebec 8 million retail members controlling CAD $193 billion in assets across all of Canada. Aside from Desjardins, other major Canadian credit unions include Vancity, Coast Capital Savings, and Credit Union Atlantic. Vancouver City Savings Credit Union or Vancity is a member-owned Financial institution in Vancouver, British Columbia and the largest english-speaking Coast Capital Savings is a Credit union based in Surrey British Columbia, and is the second largest Credit Union in Canada. Credit Union Atlantic is a Canadian Credit union that with 16700 customers is the largest credit union in Nova Scotia.

In the United States, credit unions have 86 million members, which is 43. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 47% of the economically active population^[6]. In the US, federal credit unions may apply to the National Credit Union Administration for Low-Income Credit Union or LICU status. To qualify for LICU status, the majority of the credit union's membership meet specific requirements in order to be considered "low-income". This LICU status allows the credit unions to benefit from certain NCUA programs to enhance its capacity to serve underserved populations who may otherwise lack access to credit or other financial services. In addition, some state regulators also provide for similar low-income designations.

Unlike banks, which were caught redlining underserved areas in the 1970s, credit unions are not subject to federal "community reinvestment" requirements—essentially because credit unions, by their nature and mission of "people helping people," already meet the financial needs of a broad spectrum of people that fall within their fields of membership, and play an active role in community development and growth. Redlining is the practice of denying or increasing the cost of services such as Banking, Insurance, access to jobs access to health care or even Supermarkets Because of that, credit unions have successfully lobbied to exempt themselves from the (U. S. federal) Community Reinvestment Act, the law that forces banks to provide services in low-income areas. The Community Reinvestment Act (or CRA,, title VIII, et seq) is a United States federal law designed to encourage commercial Banks and

As of the end of 2005, the National Credit Union Administration insured more than $515 billion in deposits at 8,695 nonprofit cooperative US credit unions. The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA is the United States independent federal agency that supervises and charters federal Credit unions and For comparison, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured more than $3,000 billion in deposits at 8,900 banks and thrift institutions. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ( FDIC) is a United States government corporation created by the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 The NCUA and the FDIC are both independent federal agencies backed by the full faith and credit of the US government.

Credit unions and banks in the United States

Tension has always existed between credit unions and banks in the US. When credit unions were first organizing in the United States in the early twentieth century, the banking industry was opposed, remaining so ever since. These tensions have only been exacerbated as many credit unions have grown, expanded their fields of membership to include large communities and whole states becoming in many respects indistinguishable from banks^[7].

Due to their status as not-for-profit financial institutions, credit unions in the United States are exempt from federal and state income taxes (but, not from employment or property taxes). Additionally, credit union members pay income tax on dividends earned through financial participation in the credit union; this is similar to the taxation structure enjoyed by many banks incorporated under Chapter S.

Since 1995, over thirty U. S. credit unions have converted from credit union charters to bank charters. [5] These conversions are generally initiated by a credit union's leadership team, rather than from the rank-and-file membership, and have created sharp controversy within the credit union industry. [6] As many U. S. credit unions have evolved into professionally-managed businesses, the cooperative governance model has eroded and increasingly resembles that of privately-held businesses. [7] Credit union members-at-large are generally not allowed to review credit union books, records and minutes as these are regarded as confidential trade secrets. [8] Some of these changes have occurred due to Federal and state regulatory changes and difficulties operating in a deregulated marketplace. [9] The Coalition for Credit Union Charter Options is an advocacy group for converting credit unions. [10]

Member-advocacy groups opposed to conversions include: National Center for Member Trust [11] Save First Basin Credit Union [12] Save Columbia Credit Union [13]

Bank holding companies and their affiliates aggressively compete to provide services to credit unions through their ATM networks, corporate checking accounts, and certificate of deposit programs. A certificate of deposit or CD is a Time deposit, a financial product commonly offered to consumers by Banks thrift institutions, and In 2007, the American Bankers Association barred credit union employees from attending ABA sponsored educational seminars. This includes online classes that require registration. Based upon the pretext that the ABA only wants to serve its members, the American Bankers Association continues to attempt to weaken credit unions and take back the 6% market share that credit unions currently hold.

Credit unions maintain that no matter their size or field of membership, the fact that they are owned by their members and not shareholders makes them fundamentally different from banks^[8]

See also

• Cooperative banking
• Irish League of Credit Unions
• National Credit Union Administration

References

Further reading

• Ian MacPherson. Dr Ian MacPherson (born 1939 in Toronto is a Canadian Historian, and a supporter of the Co-operative movement. Hands Around the Globe: A History of the International Credit Union Movement and the Role and Development of the World Council of Credit Unions, Inc. Horsdal & Schubart Publishers Ltd, 1999.

External links

• INTERNATIONAL: World Council of Credit Unions is a trade association for credit unions worldwide headquartered in Madison, WI.
• INTERNATIONAL: Credit Union Exectives Society is an individual association for credit union leaders worldwide
• Australia: "Cuscal Ltd" Credit Union Services Corporation, Australia, Limited represents 85% of the credit unions.
• Australia: Abacus - Australian Mutuals represents Credit Unions and Mutual Building Societies
• Canada: Department of Finance Canada
• Canada: Credit Union Central of Canada
• Canada: Credit Union Central of British Columbia
• Canada: Credit Unions of British Columbia
• Canada: Desjardins Group
• Canada: Virtual tour of Highway 11's explanation of what a "Caisse Populaire" (French for "Credit union") is
• Ireland: Irish League of Credit Unions representative and services agency.
• Scotland: Scottish League of Credit Unions
• Ukraine: Credit Union State Authority
• Ukraine: Ukrainian national trade association for credit unions
• UK: Association of British Credit Unions largest national body for British Credit Unions.
• UK: UKCU ia a national trade association for credit unions, steering groups and credit union support organisations.
• UK: National Association of Credit Union Workers is the voice and professional association for Credit Union Workers throughout Britain.
• US: Credit Union National Association is a trade association for US credit unions
• US: National Credit Union Administration regulates all Federal credit unions and insures most US credit unions (through its National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, aka NCUSIF).
• US: National Credit Union Foundation is the charitable arm of the credit union industry
• US: National Association of Federal Credit Unions is a leading trade association that exclusively represents the interests of federal credit unions before the federal government and the public.