Expert Says CUs Have Too MuchCapital

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - (06/24/05) -- Credit unions may complain ofcapital constraints, but one consultant believes America's creditunions are overcapitalized, and he has a suggestion on what to dowith it. Speaking to CUES' Annual Meeting here, Steve Williams,principal of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based technology consultancyCornerstone Advisors, said that credit unions should take their $20billion in excess capital and use it collaboratively. Creditunions, he said, should collectively buy Discover Card, he said,which parent Sears has put on the block. He said CUs should followthe example of Visa - which began not as a company, but as a groupof banks in the 1960s.