WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — It doesn't take long for one person here to calculate the cost any limit on overdraft fees would be for his credit union.
"It would not have any impact to us at all," said Bob Donley, EVP-administration and lending with Members Credit Union.
Instead, the $300-million CU has an overdraft program connected to a savings account and/or a line of credit-a program it has been offering since the late 1980s.
"That program is set up to avoid the member paying a fee to us," Donley said. "The only cost to them is daily simple interest. It's a loan-not every member qualifies for it. We approve it in $500 increments."
About 17,000 members have checking accounts at Members CU, and they all have the share privilege elected, Donley noted. An additional 33,000 people have opened lines of credit. Members CU has 52,000 members.
"So about one-third have checking accounts," Donley said. "And 20% have this overdraft line of credit in place. We do return a lot of checks."
The CU's NSF income averages about $25 per item.
"We probably have between 2,000 and 2,500 on a monthly basis," Donley said. "Losing that wouldn't be a great impact on us. That $25 is not pure income to us. Most of that is eaten up in administrative costs. We'd miss it, but it's not something we'd treat as the end of the world. It's intended to be a deterrent."
