The Clarion-Ledger featured faith-based credit unions in a news story, beginning by telling the story of a local school district employee who was able to move into a new home thanks to Hope Community CU in Jackson, Miss., which helped her obtain a $15,000 grant to use toward a downpayment. "Mississippi often leads the nation in the amount of charitable giving yet typically we don't think of that in terms of where we bank," HCCU CEO Bill Bynum was quoted as saying. "We generally think about it as giving on Sunday morning or supporting a museum or other charities, which is important. But it's also important that people realize they can make a difference when they purchase a CD."
In a story on predatory lending in North Dakota, the FORUM featured comments made during a hearing on the subject hosted by Sen. Byron Dorgan. The story quoted Darwin Brokke, president and CEO of Citizens Community Credit Union in Devils Lake, N.D., who noted, "My credit union's daily overdraft list has a number of bounced checks made out to payday lenders. The longer they have subjected themselves to abuse by payday lenders, the more difficult it is to offer products to help these members because their credit is completely shot."
Credit unions were prominently featured in the New York Times in an article headlined, "Check Credit Unions for Deals." The story included a chart showing a CU pricing advantage over other lenders. Mentioned in the Times story were Bethpage FCU's 4.875% ARM and details on its pricing and how payments work, and a quote from its SVP-Lending Michele Dean. The story also provided details on who is eligible to join. Also featured in the story were The Polish and Slavic FCU and American Eagle FCU. CUNA's chief economist, Bill Hampel, was also quoted.
