A credit union exists to serve a specific group
of people, such as a group of employees. This
is called a "field of membership." The
field of membership for NECU is employees of NAC,
The Salt Lake Tribune or Carriers for The Salt
Lake Tribune or Deseret News plus employees of
Hurley Trucking. Immediate family members of these
employees can also join. back
A credit union is a cooperative, not-for-profit
financial institution organized to promote thrift
and provide credit to members. It is member-owned
and controlled through a board of directors
elected by the membership. The board serves
on a volunteer basis and may hire a management
team to run the credit union. The board also
establishes and revises policy, sets dividend
and loan rates, and directs certain operations.
The result: members are provided with a safe,
convenient place to save and borrow at reasonable
rates at an institution which exists to benefit
them, not to make a profit. back
Most financial institutions are owned by stockholders,
who own a part of the institution and intend
on making money from their investment. A credit
union doesn't operate in that manner. Rather,
each credit union member owns one "share"
of the organization. The user of credit union
services is also an owner, and is even entitled
to vote on important issues, such as the election
of member representatives to serve on the board
of directors. back
The first credit union cooperatives started
in Germany over a century ago. Today, credit
unions are found everywhere in the world. The
credit union movement started in this country
in Manchester, New Hampshire. There, the St.
Mary's Cooperative Credit Association, a church-affiliated
credit union, opened its doors in 1909. Today,
one in every three Americans is a credit union
member. back
The primary purpose in furthering their goal
of service is to encourage members to save money.
Another purpose is to offer loans to members.
In fact, credit unions have traditionally made
loans to people of ordinary means. Credit unions
can charge lower rates for loans (as well as
pay higher dividends on savings) because they
are nonprofit cooperatives. Rather than paying
profits to stockholders, credit unions return
earnings to members in the form of dividends
or improved services. back
