Senate Banks On CreditUnions

WASHINGTON - (06/16/05) -- In news that may come in handy nextweek as the debate on regulatory relief shifts to the Senate, themost popular bank among senators continues to be a credit union.More than a third of all senators--36 in all--have at least onepersonal account with U.S. Senate FCU, which offers a convenientbranch inside the Senate office buildings on Capitol Hill. The nextmost popular financial institution in the Senate is Bank ofAmerica, where 19 members have one or more accounts, according tofinancial disclosure statements reviewed by The Credit UnionJournal. In all, 42 senators are members of at least one creditunion, with at least a dozen senators active in more than onecredit union. For example: Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, is a member ofboth Senate FCU and Honolulu FCU; George Allen, R-Va., banks atboth Senate FCU and Virginia CU; Jack Reed, D-R.I., is a member atCongressional FCU and Coastway CU; Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., isactive at Congressional FCU and Municipal CU; and Richard Durbin,D-Ill., has active memberships at Senate FCU, Congressional FCU andCredit Union One, in his home state of Illinois. Even RichardShelby, R-Ala., the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, hasan active account with Senate FCU. Some senators have substantialassets in their credit unions accounts: Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, hasbetween $250,000 and $500,000 in Senate FCU; Joseph Lieberman,D-Ct., has more than $300,000 tied up in shares accounts, IRAs, andCDs at Senate FCU.