Small Credit Union Committee

CUNA Small Credit Union Committee Unveils Unity Statement at GAC

WASHINGTON (2/27/06)--Small and large financial cooperatives will support each other and remain focused on the credit union philosophy of "people helping people," the chairman of the Credit union National Assocation's (CUNA's) committee on small credit unions told participants of the Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC).

Mary Shipe, who is also president/CEO of Alhambra CU, Phoenix, unveiled the group's statement of unity principles, which are:

• Not-for-profit, cooperative credit unions are a vital component of the U.S. financial system. Credit unions provide a necessary check-and-balance to the for-profit banking industry. All Americans benefit immeasurably from access to credit unions.



• Unity is the strength of the credit union movement. All credit unions, regardless of size, breadth of service offerings, or field-of-membership are structured as not-for-profit cooperatives and operate on a democratic, one-member, one-vote basis.



• Credit unions put the needs of consumers first. We are community- focused and live out our "people helping people" philosophy. To that end, we stand united against any and all attacks that would weaken the not-for-profit, cooperative credit union structure and harm consumers.

After presenting the principles to the GAC general session, CUNA staff posted the document to allow credit union representatives to individually endorse the statement.

Patrick Keefe, CUNA vice president of communications and media outreach, said the statement is an important message about credit union strength. "Credit unions are united by their members-first philosophy and by their cooperative structures. Size does not matter. Banker attempts to fracture the credit union movement will not be successful," he said.

Return to Small CU Resources page

Copyright © 2009 - Credit Union National Association, Inc.