News

There’s no denying that many of the nation’s banks are disappointing their customers, whether through high fees, poor lending availability, or bad service reputations. With more and more consumers choosing to put their money into financial cooperatives, it’s clear that the big banks are losing some ground. Here are the top five benefits of a community credit union for those dissatisfied with their current banking choices.

Thank you for beginning the process of comprehensive tax reform. We continue to analyze your recent discussion draft and its impact on the banking industry in greater detail. As the process unfolds in the coming months, we strongly urge you to use this opportunity to reexamine existing tax advantages that are outdated, no longer serve the public interest intended, and create competitive inequities between taxed and non-taxed firms.

Some banks are asking state legislators to pass resolutions calling on the U.S. Congress to eliminate the nonprofit status of credit unions, effectively imposing new taxes on the banks’ smallest of rivals. Said differently, “too big to fail” banks – those first to get in line for federal help and bailouts – are coming to a statehouse near you and pleading for government help to raise the cost of their ankle biter competitors.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Federal Credit Union Act, one of the nation’s most important economic development and financial services laws.

Congress created credit unions in response to the stress on family pocketbooks in the depths of the Depression.

Every day, nearly 3 million Illinois residents are among 96 million Americans who count on their local credit union to reach their financial goals.

As not-for-profit financial cooperatives, credit unions were first exempted from federal income taxes in 1917 explicitly to fulfill a special mission as valuable and affordable alternatives to for-profit banks to serve individuals with a common goal or interest.