Wisconsin CU League News Release - 8/13/12
Credit unions' strong financial results represent consumer savings,
not "subsidy"
Pewaukee, WI - “The broken record
repeats,” said Brett A. Thompson, President & CEO of the
Wisconsin Credit Union League. He was reacting to the latest tired
refrain by the Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA), which followed
regulators’ assessment of Wisconsin credit unions’ mid-year
financial position. Credit unions are cooperative financial
institutions that pay millions in taxes annually while saving members
millions each year compared to what they would have to pay at banks.
“Every chance it gets, the WBA repeats misinformation in hopes
that repetition will change the law and the facts. But their comments
are no more accurate today than they were the last time, or the time
before that, or the time before that,” Thompson said.
The WBA's intentional mischaracterization of credit unions’ net
income as a tax “subsidy” and its misstatement of credit
unions' mission as to serve only those of "modest means" are no
accident. WBA continues to repeat them in hopes of obscuring the true
facts:
- Credit unions return earnings to depositors, not shareholders.
This occurs in the form of lower loan rates, higher savings
rates and lower and fewer fees. In 2011, credit unions saved their 2.2
million members $203 million this way. Far from a “subsidy,”
strong earnings position credit unions to benefit Wisconsin
citizens—unlike banks, which return profits only to a small group
of shareholders. In fact, credit unions save Wisconsin bank
customers $66 million each year because of the competition that
helps to keep bank fees and rates in line. Credit unions pay every tax
banks pay—except corporate tax—because consumers, not
shareholders, benefit from credit unions’ earnings.
- All credit unions exist to benefit depositors.
Under Wisconsin law, the mission of every credit union is to
“encourage thrift among its members, create a source of fair
credit at a fair and reasonable cost, and provide an opportunity for its
members to improve their economic and social conditions.” Instead
of limiting by income who credit unions can serve—as WBA
suggests—state law requires credit unions to serve all members
regardless of income. Credit unions’ growth is the result of
all credit unions putting people before profits;
it’s a consequence of consumers using a locally-owned,
democratically controlled co-op to further their own financial interests
instead of the narrow corporate interests of a few.
“Banks’ own role in the financial turmoil of recent years
and relentless fee increases have led consumers to pay closer attention
to who realizes the perks of their patronage and where profits
go,” Thompson said. “Consumers have realized that they
themselves benefit when earnings from their financial institutions are
returned to them rather than going into the wallets of just a few.
That's why the increase in net revenues of credit unions so far this
year is nothing but good news for Wisconsinites.”
Learn more at www.theleague.coop/scorecard.
Find a credit union you can join at www.aSmarterChoice.org.
| Credit unions' strong financial results represent consumer savings, not "subsidy" |
