[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6596]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    THE IMPORTANCE OF CREDIT UNIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. YVETTE D. CLARKE

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 22, 2008

  Ms. CLARKE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the importance 
of credit unions. As a member of a credit union, I am a true believer 
that people should help people; which are the credit unions' mission. 
Members know that during the economic downturn that we are currently 
facing right now, credit unions will always be there to serve their 
members to the best of their ability.
  Members who have accounts in a credit union are owners of the 
financial institution and they elect the board of directors in a one 
person-one vote system regardless of the amount of money invested in 
the institution. That means that credit unions are in fact an economic 
democracy; every customer is both a member and a shareholder.
  While this Nation is painfully suffering the current mortgage crisis, 
credit unions have displayed an outstanding record of service to both 
minority and low- to moderate-income mortgage applicants and have a 
long history of responsible mortgage lending. What is impressive to me, 
Madam Speaker, is that in 2006, credit unions approved an overwhelming 
71 percent of applications from low- to moderate-income mortgage 
applicants.
  Furthermore, as a member of the House Committee on Small Business, 
these nonprofit, member-owned banking alternatives are attractive to 
many entrepreneurs because of the great lending rates and services they 
provide to them. For individual members, credit unions generally pay 
higher interest rates on deposits and charge lower interest rates on 
loans than banks while offering the same services such as savings 
accounts, checking accounts, credit cards, certificates of deposits, 
and online banking. So the fact that they provide competitive interest 
rates, fewer or no fees, and convenience makes so many members hold 
credit unions in such a high regard.
  Madam Speaker, credit unions are extremely vital to my hometown, New 
York City. Credit unions serve more New Yorkers living in low-income 
and underserved areas that are continually being abandoned by big 
corporate banks. I must point out that there are about 43,697 credit 
union members living in my district. In fact, there are 6 credit unions 
in the New York 11th Congressional District, which has 3,662 members 
and an asset value totaling more then $13 million dollars.
  Madam Speaker, I must note that what many people do not know is that 
more than \1/3\ of all credit union CEOs nationwide are women.
  Therefore Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in 
recognizing the tremendous contributions credit unions provide to so 
many communities throughout the country and provide any continued 
support to these financial institutions.

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