From a blog post published today in the ABA Banking Journal: “Congress has the tools to make sure large credit unions do a better job of meeting their 1934 statutory requirement to serve people of modest means, and that starts with the Community Reinvestment Act. For more than 40 years, CRA has required banks to […]
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In the wake of the recent Tax Foundation analysis of how the credit union federal income tax exemption continues to be an unfair and unwise policy another taxpayer watchdog, the National Taxpayers Union this week released a major new report highlighting the massive hit to federal coffers caused by large credit unions not paying their […]
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Once upon a time, people could only join the PenFed credit union if they shared a “common bond” with other members through an affiliation with the military. Such restrictions were once offered as a reason large credit unions were exempt from paying federal taxes. How things have changed. Tysons, Va.-based PenFed rolled out a splashy […]
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2019 wrapped up in record fashion for the nation’s largest credit unions. And unfortunately for American consumers and taxpayers, what’s good for these so-called “not-for-profits” isn’t good for the people that pay the bills. Let’s consider just a few issues from the year that was. Unchecked bank buying – 18 deals in a single year. […]
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A credit union that enjoys an exemption from federal taxes has bought the naming rights to a 5,000-seat theater in downtown Phoenix, continuing a trend among large credit unions to stray far away from the modest mission established for the industry by Congress years ago, in favor of aggressive market expansion. Arizona Federal Credit Union, […]
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Thanksgiving may be behind us, but large credit unions continue to gobble up banks around the country in a “bank buying spree,” apparently unabated in their ceaseless money-grab that flies in the face of the very justification for the tax-exempt status. In the last two days, two of America’s largest credit unions have announced the […]
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Turns out credit unions might not be so great when it comes to customer satisfaction, a claim they use to justify their absurd tax status and ever-expanding, disingenuous expansion into markets with no logical “common bond” among members. The annual American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) has found in its 2019 interviews of more than 300,000 […]
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Back in grandpa’s day, credit unions required a “common bond” for membership. That is, members who pooled their money to help those of “small means” needed to share a common employer, hometown, or go to the same church to enjoy special treatment from the government. Such quaint customs were considered when Congress offered credit unions […]
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Large credit unions continue to unabashedly flout the rules for their “not-for-profit” industry, and they’re only getting more brazen by the day. A few recent “highlights”: Ever-expanding so-called “field of membership” requirements to join. Has anyone been able to get $25 billion PenFed’s ubiquitous advertising ditty out of their heads, “Great rates for everyone”? (If that’s not enough, enjoy this (long) list of credit […]
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Credit unions were created in the 1930s with a noble purpose in mind: Pool the resources of people who shared a common bond to help relieve the financial struggles of people of modest means within their community of shared interests. Given such an important social mission, it made sense for credit unions to get help […]
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