CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF CREDIT UNIONS WITH PEFCU

15 October 2009 12:00 p.m. Eastern
Nicole Thompson

All year credit unions have been celebrating their 100-year birthday in the United States and their innumerable contributions to consumer finance in our nation.

The anniversary is viewed not as pegged to a single hard date, but encompassing a rolling series of events. For example, the first U.S. credit union, St. Mary's Bank Credit Union, was organized in Manchester, N.H., in November 1908. A few months later, in April 1909, the first credit union law was passed, in Massachusetts. June marked the 75th anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt signing the Federal Credit Union Act of 1934, which established a federal framework for credit unions.

Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives that were founded to provide an effective and viable alternative to for-profit financial institutions. They are member-owned, and run and built on a one member/one vote model. Currently, nearly 8,300 credit unions collectively serve more than 90 million members in the United States.

"Today, as we have throughout our history, credit unions like ours are playing an invaluable role by providing stability in financial services to consumers, maintaining a ready source of affordable credit, and offering our members a safe and sound depository for their savings," said Bob Falk, Purdue Employees Federal Credit Union president and chief executive officer. "Credit unions are built on a tradition of people helping people—a tradition that continues today and that captures the spirit of America."

Key dates in the history of U.S. credit unions include:

• 1908: The first U.S. credit union opened.
• 1909: The first U.S. credit union was chartered in New Hampshire, and the first credit union law passed in Massachusetts.
• 1934: The Federal Credit Union Act passed; the Credit Union National Association—the national trade association serving America's credit unions-formed.
• 1969: The number of U.S. credit unions peaked at 23,866, and locally PEFCU was chartered.
• 1970: Congress created the National Credit Union Administration and the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund to regulate federally-chartered credit unions and provide federal insurance to virtually all credit unions, including PEFCU.
• 1980: President Jimmy Carter signed legislation authorizing share drafts for credit unions.
• 1998: President Bill Clinton signed the Credit Union Membership Access Act into law, preserving the ability of credit unions to serve multiple membership groups.
• 2008: Credit unions stood out as a bright spot amid the housing and credit crisis.

More information about the centennial of credit unions can be found at www.cuna.org.