 A credit union is a not-for-profit co-operative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members, through the election of a volunteer Board of Directors elected from the membership itself. Only a member of a credit union may deposit money with the credit union, or borrow money from it.
A credit union differs from a traditional financial institution (banks, savings and loan, etc.) in that the members who have accounts in the credit union are the credit union's owners. Since a credit union is a co-operative institution, its policies govern ing interest rates and other matters are set to benefit the interests of the membership as a whole; for example, credit unions often pay higher dividend (interest) rates on shares (deposits) and charge lower interest on loans. Credit union revenues (from loans and investments) do, however, need to exceed operating expenses and dividends (interest paid on deposits) in order to remain in business, and this excess is used to expense loan losses and build capital.
Credit unions offer many of the same financial services as banks, including share accounts (savings accounts), share draft (checking) accounts, credit cards, and share term certificates (certificates of deposit). |
