'Statement of Unity Principles' Is Shared

As banks continue to use a divide-and-conquer strategy by suggesting they are only after the big credit unions, CUNA's Small Credit Union Committee has crafted a "Statement of Unity Principles."

Alhambra CU CEO Mary Shipe, who is also the chairman of CUNA's Small CU Committee, read the statement at GAC, noting, "Bankers have attempted to use our differences against us...well, we are not na?ve. We know that anything that adversely affects large credit unions ultimately hurts us all."

The statement, which CUs were urged to sign, reads:

* Not-for-profit, cooperative credit unions are a vital component of the U.S. financial system. Credit unions provide a necessary check-and-balance to the for-profit banking industry. All Americans benefit immeasurably from access to credit unions.

* Unity is the strength of the credit union movement. All credit unions, regardless of size, breadth of service offerings, or field-of-membership are structured as not-for-profit cooperatives and operate on a democratic, one-member, one-vote basis.

* Credit unions put the needs of consumers first. We are community focused and live out our "people helping people" philosophy. To that end, we stand united against any and all attacks that would weaken the not-for-profit, cooperative credit union structure and harm consumers.

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