jrs_dodge_diesel

Am a member of 2 credit unions and am very pleased with them.

A little info on credit unions I dug up.

http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/org/cmu-cu/faq.html

FAQ Re: Credit Unions

Q. What is a credit union?

A. Credit unions are financial cooperatives that are owned by their members. Member savings form a pool of money from which low-cost loans are made to other members. Once overhead and other expenses are paid and reserves set aside, income from loans is returned to members in the form of dividends on savings, expansion of services and a larger cushion against loss.

Q. What makes credit unions different form other financial institutions ?

A. It's their structure. Credit unions are democratically controlled by their members. The members, themselves, elect a board of directors from among the membership, which is responsible for setting policy. Day to day operations are handled by paid professionals, or in the case of very small sized credit unions, by volunteers.

Credit unions do not make a profit for a select group of stockholders. While a credit union needs income to provide services and benefits such as dividends on savings, its primary purpose is to serve members. Consequently, credit unions tend to have lower overhead costs and expenses, and are usually able to offer lower interest rates on loans and higher dividends on members shares (savings).

Credit unions promote thrift and welcome savers. They advocate the wise use of credit and will make small loans that other financial institutions would consider too small for processing.

Q. Are savings insured ?

A. Member savings accounts at all Pennsylvania credit unions are federally insured up to $100,000 by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Funs (NCUSIF), which is administered by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).

The fund is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. No taxpayer funds are used to support the (NCUA) or the (NCUSIF).

Q. Who governs credit unions ?

A. A credit union receives its authority to operate by obtaining a federal or state charter. State chartered credit unions follow the the regulation set by the State Credit Union Act; federally chartered ones fall under the Federal Credit Union Act.

Annual examinations and oversight is conducted by the supervisory agencies- the (NCUA) for federal credit unions - and the Pennsylvania Department of Banking for credit unions chartered under Pennsylvania laws.

Q. Who may join a credit union ?

A. Not everyone may join a credit union. Each credit union serves a specific field of membership as defined by its charter. Anyone who falls within the common bond of the credit union may join and share in its ownership. A common bond can be defined as employees of a company, members of a civic or church group, residents of a community or numerous groups together.

PistolWhipt

I hate any kind of financial institution. I can save more by keeping my money in an envelope under my mattress. Between the fees they charge you for banking with them and the misc. charges for using brand-X's atm machine ... I end up losing in the end.

I have had pretty good luck with the bank I have here on base so far. The only thing I get charged extra for is when I pay a bill thru them ... which is by far the easiest way to deal with the German economy.

The nice thing about the "under the mattress savings and loan" is that when the dough is gone ... you know that there is noone going to charge you for not having enough in the envelope to make the bank president happy .

PISTOL

mikmaze

I don't know if they are saturating your areas but around here, Comerce bank is taking over, popping up everywhere, they have a lot more hours of operation than most banks, I don't use them only because I have a fair deal with my credit union and no reason to leave.

texasaggie2005

My wife and I have had a lot of good experiences with Aggieland Credit Union. We used to have Wells Fargo, got fed up with them and switched. I reckon we have been with Aggieland for almost two years now, checking and savings accounts. Zero complaints so far.

IA_James

Another vote for Credit Unions here. Lennox Employee's specifically. If you're going to need a bank in Dallas you should be able to join too, they have a branch down there I think.

dssimecek

Credit unions are good, and have most everything you would need, checking,savings, good rates on truck loans. ours is financed with a CU.
Then on the form that ask, former bank, "Piggy" is always a good answer.