Credit Unions Make Friends—But Not with Bankers

1. Define the following terms used in the reading:
   1. National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)
   2. National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF)
   3. Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)
   4. credit union "shares"

2. What is a credit union? When and why did these financial institutions originate in the United States?

3. Describe the structure of the credit union industry in terms of number, size distribution, and primary assets and liabilities of institutions.

4. What is the meaning of "common bond" in reference to credit union membership? How was the interpretation of this affected by (a) the Supreme Court decision in the AT&T Family Credit Union case and (b) the Credit Union Membership Access Act?

5. What grounds do banks have for claiming that credit unions compete unfairly? Why is it contradictory for banks to hold this view of credit unions?

Source: "Credit Unions Make Friends—But Not with Bankers." William R. Emmons and Frank A. Schmid, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis The Regional Economist, October 2003, pp. 4-9.