THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, September 17, 1994           TAG: 9409160704
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Digest 
SOURCE: Staff 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   26 lines

COURT UPHOLDS CREDIT UNIONS' RIGHT TO SERVE MULTIPLE CONSUMER GROUPS:

Credit unions won a landmark decision for U.S. consumers yesterday as the D.C. District Court ruled against a suit brought by the American Bankers Association and four North Carolina banks to limit consumer access to credit unions. The suit against AT&T Family Federal Credit Union, Winston-Salem, N.C., had been pending for four years. The bankers were attempting to force AT&T Family to revoke the memberships of employee groups that were not affiliated with American Telephone and Telegraph, the credit union's original sponsor. A bankers' victory could have prevented credit union access to tens of thousands of North Carolina consumers, forcing many of them to pay higher rates on loans and higher fees for all types of financial services. Such a precedent could have affected millions of consumers nationwide. (Staff)

KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT U.S. DISTRICT COURT RULING by CNB