What is ‘Federal Credit Union – FCU’
A credit union chartered and supervised by the National Credit Union Association (NCUA), a federal government agency that functions much like the FDIC. Federal credit unions operate like retail banks with one major exception: every credit union member is also a partial owner of the institution. Credit unions operating under the label “federal” are not directly run by the government or limited to government employees. Rather, they’ve simply opted to organize themselves under federal credit union regulations instead of state banking laws.
Explaining ‘Federal Credit Union – FCU’
Some feel that credit unions may be one of the best-kept secrets of consumer banking. Since these organizations are essentially owned by the people who deposit money with them, credit union members often enjoy higher rates on their savings accounts and lower costs of borrowing than customers at traditional banks. Making credit unions even more attractive is the fact that deposits are protected by the the U.S. Treasury similar to FDIC insurance, as long as the credit union is either federally chartered or a state-chartered credit union that has opted to participate in NCUSIF.
Further Reading
- US financial services consolidation: The case of corporate credit unions – link.springer.com [PDF]
- The economic impact of the federal credit union usury ceiling – onlinelibrary.wiley.com [PDF]
- Do credit unions use their tax advantage to benefit members? Evidence from a cost function – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
- The Place of Common Bond: Can Credit Unions Make Place for Solidarity Economy? – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- The corporate credit union crisis: Does it call for reform or re-engineering? – link.springer.com [PDF]
- Conversions and capital of mutual thrifts: connections, problems, and proposals for credit unions – www.ebhsoc.org [PDF]
- The effect of the common bond and membership expansion on credit union risk – onlinelibrary.wiley.com [PDF]
