How about some random acts of just increase the base interest rate of my checking account?

Honest Bender: How about some random acts of just increase the base interest rate of my checking account?

The credit union I used to go to would deposit additional money in your account because they made too much money the following year. Ahhh socialism!

Corvus: Honest Bender: How about some random acts of just increase the base interest rate of my checking account?

The credit union I used to go to would deposit additional money in your account because they made too much money the following year. Ahhh socialism!

Nice! Also, because I know someone will feel the need to rip on me about my previous post, I keep my long term savings in an invest portfolio. Bank interest is for suckers anyway.

Corvus: Honest Bender: How about some random acts of just increase the base interest rate of my checking account?

The credit union I used to go to would deposit additional money in your account because they made too much money the following year. Ahhh socialism!

Yeah to keep their non profit status and pay fewer taxes.

MicroE: Corvus: Honest Bender: How about some random acts of just increase the base interest rate of my checking account?

The credit union I used to go to would deposit additional money in your account because they made too much money the following year. Ahhh socialism!

Yeah to keep their non profit status and pay fewer taxes.

I'm okay with this.

MicroE: Yeah to keep their non profit status and pay fewer taxes.

So THAT'S their cunning plan! I knew it!

Well, I'll show them. I'll close my account and open up a new account at Bank of America!

Wait, so they're giving my money to random people whenever they want?

Meh, I guess that's what my government and my bank does anyway.

Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!

The bigger banks have surprise squads, too... only they give out foreclosure notices and past due statements.


/TransferredNovember5th

Confused by the whole story and thinks they are all saps.

MicroE: Yeah to keep their non profit status and pay fewer taxes.

and this is evil. unless you're a for-profit corporation or rich person.

MicroE: Corvus: Honest Bender: How about some random acts of just increase the base interest rate of my checking account?

The credit union I used to go to would deposit additional money in your account because they made too much money the following year. Ahhh socialism!

Yeah to keep their non profit status and pay fewer taxes.

Yes that's the point. YOU are the owners not stockholder who want to rape you for your money. You make it sound like some sort of trick.

MicroE: Corvus: Honest Bender: How about some random acts of just increase the base interest rate of my checking account?

The credit union I used to go to would deposit additional money in your account because they made too much money the following year. Ahhh socialism!

Yeah to keep their non profit status and pay fewer taxes.

Umm yes people who don't make profits don't pay taxes. Do you have a Nobel prize in economics?

Honest Bender: How about some random acts of just increase the base interest rate of my checking account?

The strongest point in favor of co-ops in general (and, by extension, credit unions) is that they're very, very aware that they're stewarding the member's money and so they are really, really, sometimes insanely conservative in their investment strategies and really resistant to diversification outside of their stated charter.

The downside of this is that, in boom time, you're making very, very little money, just a bit better than keeping your cash in a mattress.

The upside is that, when the economy takes a long walk off a short peer and every company that's remotely speculative loses like half its value overnight, you're still making that little bit of money (and, perhaps more importantly, not losing anything).

There's more to it, obviously (member participatory structure, equal stakes regardless of owner input, etc) but the above is why you should really appreciate the fact that your credit union most likely would never do what you're suggesting. It's one of the reasons that, when the big banks were running around screaming that the sky was falling, the CUs just kinda gave 'em a sideways look like they were nuts and carried on as usual.

FTFA: "Jennifer Roberts, the credit union's public relations strategist, said the past month of giving has been beneficial........"

It's called guerrilla marketing. Spend a couple of thousand over a month, then suddenly announce yourself. Cheap advertising.

/yeah I'm cynical.

Also, subby, Credit unions ARE banks, you numbskull.

Sorry I forgot to put that in the original post.

Aren't credit unions typically run by a board of (volunteer) directors? That alone is a benefit of using them.

I wish there was one near where I live that I could use. At least I'm not a Key Bank customer though. They hire assholes at every level.

Jim_Callahan: The downside of this is that, in boom time, you're making very, very little money, just a bit better than keeping your cash in a mattress.

Well at a bank the shareholders are the ones that really are making the money not the investor of the bank.

Banks give you the minimum interest that they can get away with. Unlike a CU profits go to share holder NOT members.

Sabyen91: Corvus: MicroE: Corvus: Honest Bender: How about some random acts of just increase the base interest rate of my checking account?

The credit union I used to go to would deposit additional money in your account because they made too much money the following year. Ahhh socialism!

Yeah to keep their non profit status and pay fewer taxes.

Umm yes people who don't make profits don't pay taxes. Do you have a Nobel prize in economics?

He would be shocked to know that 'for profits' that make no profit would also pay "fewer" taxes.

Hey if he wants to give me all his money to "pay fewer taxes" I am willing to take over that tax burden for him.

Looks like this is in Iowa. However, a couple days ago my mom, who lives in Ohio, got her hair done and when she went to pay, they said that the person before her already paid for it as a random act of kindness. Wonder if it was a similar deal here or if it was just an old, garden-variety crazy nice person.

davidphogan: Aren't credit unions typically run by a board of (volunteer) directors? That alone is a benefit of using them.

I wish there was one near where I live that I could use. At least I'm not a Key Bank customer though. They hire assholes at every level.

Co-ops are basically the other school of socialism, while Marx was off writing his this-will-totally-end-well version in France there was a mostly unrelated movement in England that basically went with "OK, let's make a normal corporation, but everyone using the service/with a stake in the investment gets one vote, and we don't give returns on capital".

In the case of a credit union, generally everyone with an account gets one vote as to the disposition of the banked funds. For practical purposes, they generally do this by electing a BoD from the membership, who in turn will hire employees (usually not themselves members, so they don't get an actual vote) to do the day-to-day running of the corp. Basically, it's a normal corporation, except that no dividends are paid out, and each member gets one vote, instead of (one vote)*(amount of money put in). Many Co-ops are non-profit, but Credit Unions tend to be the exception-- the majority of them are for-profit corps. Which makes the "hurr durr, they just want their non-profit status" comments a bit puzzling... I guess maybe the bank in TFA is one of the nons?

Sabyen91: I will take enough to drop him a tax bracket so he doesn't have to pay the higher rate on his whole income. I will be doing him a favor.

/People actually think like this.

Yes. I know idiot right wingers who "take a loss" so they don't have to pay more in taxes. It's like Ummm you are tossing away 75 cents for every 25 cents (and I doubt it is that much) you save.

They are idiots.

Sabyen91: Jim_Callahan: Also, subby, Credit unions ARE banks, you numbskull.

Sorry I forgot to put that in the original post.

If Credit Unions were banks we would call them banks.

Isn't that what he just did?

don't be a douchebag. put your money at the place that gives you the most value. is it a credit union? fine. bank? fine. mattress? whatever.

don't buy into the OWS bullscheiss.

Sabyen91: Jim_Callahan: Also, subby, Credit unions ARE banks, you numbskull.

Sorry I forgot to put that in the original post.

If Credit Unions were banks we would call them banks.

...but it's illegal for any credit union to use the term "banking" in any of their advertising. Maybe they're not banks after all.

As the economy tanks and borrowers more and more find themselves unable to make loan payments, how do credit unions avoid getting severely impacted by the situation?

Sabyen91: Jim_Callahan: Also, subby, Credit unions ARE banks, you numbskull.

Sorry I forgot to put that in the original post.

If Credit Unions were banks we would call them banks.

Call them whatever you want. The only difference is who owns them.

Sudlow: FTFA: "Jennifer Roberts, the credit union's public relations strategist, said the past month of giving has been beneficial........"
It's called guerrilla marketing. Spend a couple of thousand over a month, then suddenly announce yourself. Cheap advertising.
/yeah I'm cynical.

Meanwhile, BoA's pr strategist nods approvingly at the $5 debit card charge.

Of course the CU is advertising. That doesn't make it a bad thing. No worse than listing your volunteer work on your resume. You're still doing a good thing.

davidphogan: Aren't credit unions typically run by a board of (volunteer) directors? That alone is a benefit of using them.

I wish there was one near where I live that I could use. At least I'm not a Key Bank customer though. They hire assholes at every level.

Why they are so useful is the "owners" are the members instead of being stock holder. (oh noes socialism!) So instead of trying to screw you over they want to make you happy.


Many hospitals are doing this too and people are really happy about how well they are bing taken care of in compared to "for profit" hospitals.

Edsel: Sabyen91: Jim_Callahan: Also, subby, Credit unions ARE banks, you numbskull.

Sorry I forgot to put that in the original post.

If Credit Unions were banks we would call them banks.

Call them whatever you want. The only difference is who owns them.

In the case of a CU, the customers own them. In the case of a bank, not so much and someone takes a percentage for owning them. I'm sorry, I'm just not following your train of thought.

Edsel: Sabyen91: Jim_Callahan: Also, subby, Credit unions ARE banks, you numbskull.

Sorry I forgot to put that in the original post.

If Credit Unions were banks we would call them banks.

Call them whatever you want. The only difference is who owns them.

Yes at a bank stock holders who want to rape me for every dime I have are the owners at CU I and the other members are the "owners".

That makes a huge difference in how everything is done.

credit unions are better than sex.
I know as i closed my last two remaining accounts with BOA after getting f*ck by them.
A local CU took me in and gave me breakfast.
Now I am no longer a man down under.
Where banks blow and politicians plunder.

Corvus:
Banks give you the minimum interest that they can get away with. Unlike a CU profits go to share holder NOT members.

Well, I guess kind of the difference is that in the context of a co-op there is no distinction between members and shareholders, they're the same thing. Personally, I find it a more civilized way to run a corporation, but if you want a higher-risk investment pattern the usual way is probably your best bet. (In the case of a checking/savings account, you usually don't though, so there's that.)

Sabyen91: If Credit Unions were banks we would call them banks.

You should call them banks, then, if that's your philosophy.

"Credit Union" is a function of how they're organized as a corporation.

"Bank" is a function of what the corporation does to make money. There are co-op banks and there are standard capitalist banks. Both are banks, but only one of 'em is a CU. For that matter, there are co-ops that are banks and co-ops that aren't banks and only one of those is a CU as well. Still a subset. I can draw it as an ascii venn diagram if it'll help:

{ Cooperative corporations [(Credit Unions)} Banks]

Sabyen91: rohar: Sabyen91: Jim_Callahan: Also, subby, Credit unions ARE banks, you numbskull.

Sorry I forgot to put that in the original post.

If Credit Unions were banks we would call them banks.

...but it's illegal for any credit union to use the term "banking" in any of their advertising. Maybe they're not banks after all.

That is strange. They do indeed do banking. I didn't realize it was illegal for them to use the term.

Nope, banking is for profit. Credit unions are not for profit. If there's not profit, there's no banking.

Jim_Callahan: "Bank" is a function of what the corporation does to make money. There are co-op banks and there are standard capitalist banks. Both are banks, but only one of 'em is a CU. For that matter, there are co-ops that are banks and co-ops that aren't banks and only one of those is a CU as well. Still a subset. I can draw it as an ascii venn diagram if it'll help:

But that's not true Credit Unions are under some different rules (many created by the banking industry to try to make CU's not to compete as much). For example to be a member of a CU you need to belong to some sort of group like an Education profession, Military, etc.

ALso CU's don't use FAIC they use a separate insurance backed by the government. They are not legally the same thing.

rohar:

...but it's illegal for any credit union to use the term "banking" in any of their advertising.

Huh. Didn't know that. Google's not immediately verifying, but looking at the list it does seem that none of them have "bank" in their name in my state, at least.

That's really bloody odd. Some kind of cold war thing?

Honest Bender: How about some random acts of just increase the base interest rate of my checking account?

Because it's illegal. (new window)

Sabyen91: He would be shocked to know that 'for profits' that make no profit would also pay "fewer" taxes.

Sabyen91: MicroE: Corvus: Honest Bender: How about some random acts of just increase the base interest rate of my checking account?

The credit union I used to go to would deposit additional money in your account because they made too much money the following year. Ahhh socialism!

Yeah To keep their non profit status and pay fewer taxes.

Well, that cynicism was pointless. Our local CU invests heavily in our area AND has profit-sharing for account holders. Selfish bastards.

FTFM