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Nassau Educator Fcu
Credit Unions - A Friendly Alternative To High-Street Finance
A credit union is a not-for-profit, cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members. When a person signs on the dotted line for a loan, payments typically extend from one to five years. When a person signs on the dotted line for a loan, payments typically extend from one to five years.
Historically, credit unions served the employees of one particular company or the members of a specific occupation. Being a co-operative institution, it works towards the mutual interest of its owner members by charging a low rate of interest on loans and giving a high rate of interest as dividends on shares invested. A Credit Union is a co-operative institution and as such it is able to set its own interest rates.
Each year, your local credit union holds an annual election and meeting where members select candidates for the Board of Directors from among its members to represent them in setting the policies of the credit union. You never know who may have a credit union already organized that fits your interests. Whether you have a poor credit rating or not you can still become a member of a credit union and save as little or as much as you like.
By teaming up with each other, the credit unions will be able to expand their network and provide their members with more options for ATM transactions. You can take out a car loan from a credit union. Again, because you are a member-owner of your not for profit credit union you derive financial benefits that are reserved for stock holders at for profit banks. You can look up credit unions in your area that you might be able to join. This is an additional benefit of taking advantage of a home equity loan.
These Federal credit unions ensure that their members share accounts through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) for the security and safety of the credit union.
Because credit unions are democratic, member-owned cooperatives, every member, regardless of account size, has a voice in governance. This structure is unlike the for-profit, public companies where stockholders vote according to the number of shares of stock they own. Online banking, free bill pay and investment services are common at credit unions.
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