Credit Unions

A Rochester Credit Union Wants The Local Government To Create A Bank

June 9, 2024 Oscar Perry Abello, Next City. Create! Credit Unions, New York (NY), Public Banks, Rochester, Small Business

Melissa Marquez inherited her mother’s deep desire to make the banking system work for those whom it has long excluded. At 14, she saw her mother break down in tears again and again after coming home from work as a loan officer at a bank. The bank refused to lend to their community in Barrio Logan, an epicenter of Chicano culture in San Diego, her mother told her. Barrio Logan residents would come in, make their deposits and stay faithful customers to the bank, but still couldn’t get access to credit. That memory from 1974 has driven Marquez to help lead a coalition of tenant organizers, community land trusts, community development lenders and elected officials that has spent the last few years calling for more government-owned banks across New York.

The Masters In Management: Co-Operatives And Credit Union Program

October 18, 2023 John McNamara, Grassroots Economic Organizing. Create! Cooperatives, Credit Unions, Higher Education, New Economy

On September 22nd, students graduating with either a Graduate Diploma or a Masters in Management: Co-operatives and Credit Unions (MMCCU) were greeted with boisterous whoops and feet stomping from the 12 faculty of the program who joined the Chancellor, Dean, and about another 10 faculty from Saint Mary’s University at Convocation. It was a relatively rare occurrence for the program and the special moment was created through a two day celebration of the program’s 20th anniversary and the first in-person faculty retreat since 2019. The first day of the two-day event, kicked off quite appropriately at the Glitter Bean Café.

Credit Unions Are Taking The Lead To Un-Redline The Green New Deal

July 26, 2023 Oscar Perry Abello, Next City. Create! Credit Unions, Energy, Finance and the Economy, Green New Deal

Terri Mickelsen and about 7,500 of her friends aren’t waiting to jump into the green revolution. They’re members of Clean Energy Credit Union, where Mickelsen is CEO, and since 2017 they’ve already invested around $200 million in clean energy or other green loans for member households across the country, offsetting an estimated 700,000 tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions so far — equivalent to taking 152,000 gas-powered vehicles off the road permanently. Every month, they make another $6-8 million in green loans. “I am kind of a credit union nerd who got together with some clean energy nerds as we were chartering a new credit union,” says Mickelsen.

What Will Happen When Banks Go Bust?

February 23, 2023 Ellen Brown, Scheer Post. Educate! Bail-Ins, Banking, Credit Unions, Finance and the Economy, Financial Crisis

Financial podcasts have been featuring ominous headlines lately along the lines of “Your Bank Can Legally Seize Your Money” and “Banks Can STEAL Your Money?! Here’s How!” The reference is to “bail-ins:” the provision under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act allowing Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs, basically the biggest banks) to bail in or expropriate their creditors’ money in the event of insolvency. The problem is that depositors are classed as “creditors.” So how big is the risk to your deposit account? Part I of this two part article will review the bail-in issue.

Top 5 Reasons To Choose A Community Bank Or Credit Union

April 17, 2019 By Stacy Mitchell, Ilsr.org Educate! Community Banks, Credit Unions, New Economy

Most locally owned banks and credit unions offer the same array of services, from online bill paying to debit and credit cards, at much lower cost than big banks. Average fees at small banks and credit unions are substantially lower than at big banks, according to national data. Studies show that small financial institutions also offer, on average, better interest rates on savings and better terms on credit cards and other loans.

Black-Led Credit Union: ‘Most Important Work’ To Drive Economic Vitality

August 18, 2017 Camille Erickson, www.tcdailyplanet.net Create! Black Capitalism, Black Nationalism, Credit Unions, Economics, Minneapolis, New Economy

By Camille Erickson for TC Daily Planet - “We can’t keep using the bodies of youth as the only tool for resistance,” Me’Lea Connelly, executive director of the Association of Black Economic Power (ABEP) said, “we need something else.” In the wake of the killing of Jamar Clark on Nov. 15, 2015 and the ensuing Fourth Precinct occupation, followed less than a year later by the killing of Philando Castile on July 6, 2016, Connelly recalled a drive for a concerted effort with movement organizers to diversify tactics of resistance against police brutality. A meeting was called, and after hours of conversation with a cross section of community, the group voted to create Minnesota’s only Black-led financial institution in North Minneapolis. A symbiotic relationship exists between ABEP and Blexit. Connelly described Blexit as the incubator and nest where ideas put forth by the community are percolated. ABEP puts them into action. The ABEP Executive Committee composed of – Connelly, Brett Grant, Ron Harris, Amber Jones, Danielle Mkali, Felicia Perry and Y. Elaine Rasmussen – are leading the effort to build the foundations of the credit union while still remaining deeply grounded in the conceptions of resistance movement.

Newsletter: After The Crash…

January 9, 2016 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.PopularResistance.org Newsletter #BlackLivesMatter, Banks, Black Lives Matter (BLM), Capitalism, carbon free nuclear free, Climate Change, Community Banks, Credit Unions, Debt, Debt-Free Money, Democracy, Economic Democracy, Education, Eric Holder, Federal Reserve, Finance and the Economy, Foreclosures, Guaranteed basic income, Income, Income inequality, Infrastructure, Living Wage, Medicare, Medicare for all, Minimum Wage, Occupy Movement, Plutocracy, Poverty, Public Banking, Student Debt, TPP, Tuition, Unemployment

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers for Popular Resistance. The economic agenda described here would create a radical transformation of the economy from a top-down system designed for the wealthiest, to a botton-up system that creates a foundation for an economy that benefits all. Putting in place this economy would move us from a plutocratic economy to a democratized economy where people have economic control over their lives. It is a radical shift – how can it happen? There is only one path – the people must be educated, organized and mobilized to demand it. We need to change the political culture to one where the necessities of the people and protection of the planet are the priorities of the economy. If predictions are correct, the next economic collapse will deeper and more damaging than the 2008 collapse. It will be a tremendous opportunity to demand radical economic change. It is one the movement for economic, racial and environmental justice should be preparing for now.

Church Plans to ‘Compete’ Wonga Out of Business

July 25, 2013 the BBC, www.bbc.co.uk Create! Credit Unions

The Most Rev Justin Welby told Wonga boss Errol Damelin the Church planned to do this by expanding credit unions as an alternative to payday lenders. The plan is to create "credit unions that are... engaged in their communities", he said. Mr Damelin said he was "all for better consumer choice". Payday firms offer short-term loans, often at high interest rates, and have been accused of leading people into more debt. Archbishop Welby, a former financier who sits on the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, has previously lobbied for a cap on high interest rates charged by loan companies. He said the Church could do more to help non-profit lenders to compete with payday firms. "I've met the head of Wonga, and we had a very good conversation," the archbishop told Total Politics magazine.

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