THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 30, 1995 TAG: 9508300008
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
Business writer Tom Shean's well-balanced article on credit unions (``Regulators, banks paying attention to credit unions,'' Aug. 13) featured a statement by Virginia Bankers Association Executive Vice President Walter Ayers that credit unions' ``lower fee structure is due to the fact that they are not paying taxes.''
The truth is that credit-union fees are lower than bank fees because credit unions are member-owned cooperatives whose ``profits'' are returned to the membership in the form of better rates, lower fees and additional services. Mr. Ayers' statement is standard banker propaganda designed to divert attention from the fact that banks are making record profits. Credit unions have no stockholders to pay, and credit-union board members are unpaid volunteers.
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group recently suggested that consumers join a credit union as an alternative to paying bank fees that have risen twice the rate of inflation since 1993.
Sixty-seven percent of credit unions offer some form of free checking compared to 23 percent of banks. At a credit union, the account holder can write nearly twice as many checks before a per-check fee is imposed (an average of 29 free checks vs. 15 at banks). Credit unions charge an average of four to five percentage points less than banks on unpaid credit-card balances.
I urge your readers to see for themselves why credit unions are America's fastest-growing financial institutions by joining their credit union.
MICHAEL L. HILLING
Director of public relations
Virginia Credit Union League
Lynchburg, Aug. 15, 1995 by CNB