Finally, the country's paying attention

On my last post I talked about how tough it is sometimes to explain how credit unions are different than banks. We can spend thousands of dollars trying to explain the difference in structure (stockholders versus member-ownership) and the benefits that brings. Credit union members understand, because they know the benefits firsthand. But people at large, they don’t know. So they sometimes can’t understand how credit union membership can really make that much of a difference in their financial lives.

Then you read an article like the one published by the Wall Street Journal this past Sunday and it makes our job a lot easier, because quite frankly, the proof is in the pudding. At the end of the day, credit unions are true “safe havens” during this time of economic upheaval. The article states, “…the nation’s 8,000 credit unions are gaining new stature as reliable sources of lending in the tempest-tossed credit market.” We’ve always been reliable. But apparently, what people out there are finally realizing is that credit unions are a real, viable, stable choice in the midst of “big banks (becoming) wards of the government while smaller banks are failing at a rate of about one a week.”

The article also graciously called credit unions a “safe harbor,” then proceeded to say we’re also the “sleepiest, most unexciting corner of the financial world….” Really? Sleepy and unexciting? I personally beg to differ. But then again, I’d much rather we be steady and secure than glitzy and bankrupt.

You want safe deposits, choose a credit union. You want a loan, choose a credit union. You want people who really care about your financial success, choose a credit union. Finally, the country’s paying attention.