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Show assarsr- i t Questions, Answers, On Credit Unions Continued From Page 8 leaders dont stay amateurs very long. They union experience, widen abilities through and through study, attendance at meetand conferences, ings, through association with other credit union people. When a credit union can, it will hire professionals to serve as manager, loan officers, counselors, etc. It is true that all credit union officers except the treasurer are unpaid volunteers, but this doesnt necessarily amamean theyre all teurs. Wed much prefer to be called a bunch of volunteers. Q. Volunteers seem to be very important in the credit union movement. Where do you get these people: Why are they willing to donate their time and effort without pay? Isnt this unusual in a materialistic society? A. This is not an easy question to answer. We believe, however, that human beings basically like to cooperate with each other, when given the chance and when the results are so obviously good. Even in a very materialistic world in which everyone is supposed to be oat for the buck and looking out for a great Number One, number of civic and benevolent organizations depend on volunteers and are Satisfacnot disappointed. tion is the key, probably. There is great satisfaction in knowing you have accomplished something for the benefit of your fellow man. To a greater or lesser extent prestige enters the picture, too. Serving as an official of a neighborhood Community Chest, or serving as president or board member of a credit union, confers status as well as statisfaction on the volunteer. gain their practice ystem is eligible for the Superior Service of the i 12,000 Utah families and, in case of $2,000 of your savings is subject to limited age reprotection is provided by CUNA Mutual Insurance HIGHER DIVIDENDS for you death, DOUBLE the first paid to your beneficiary, quirements. This special the Credit Unions' own Society. If YOU are eligible, you'll receive a warm welcome when you drop in, or give us a telephone call. We're sure you will like the Services, the pleasant way of doing business at YOUR Credit Union. Q. Do credit unions hate bankers? A. No. Banks are esse- ntial to credit unions; every credit union uses a bank, and relationships between banks and credit unions generally are excellent. Some bankers like to charge that credit unions are attempting to get into the banking business, but a better case can be presented for the exact opposite. One of the basic reasons for the appearance of credit unions many years ago was the lack of saving and borrowing facilities anywhere else. A ago banks were not interested in the ordinary man and his borrowing and saving needs. Much more recently banks have become very much interested in making consumer loans, and some bankers resent the fact that credit unions are serving people in a field in .which banks could make a half-centu- LT LAKE CITY, UTAH WATS 84102 .profit.. . Credit , ry unions. learned many years before banks did that the average man the little man a good credit risk who kept his word and repaid his debts on time. In a very real sense, banks today are trying to get into the credit union business. But regardless of how you look at it, credit unions today are walling to compete with banks and other financial institutions. We have something to offer, and they have something to offer. We are perfectly willing to let the consumer decide which service to use. We stand, on our record. --w- Q. as I understand credit unions dont pay taxes. Why? Is this fair? A. Credit unions pay a lot of taxes, but its true in the U.S. they are from income tax by the pt federal government and most states. The reason is that credit unions are nonprofit organizations. Profit corporations exist to make a profit for their owners on business done mostly with than customers owners, but a credit union does business only with its owners, not the general public. It has no customers. Earnings actually to members in probelong to the amount of portion business they have done with the credit union, either saving or borrowing. other As a non-prof- it organization, the credit union is obligated by law to divide earnings among members. When earnings are divided, there is no significant income left to tax. But earnings returned to savers are fully taxable on members individual tax returns. Credit unions call these funds dividends, but they are taxed like interest. Q. What benefits, other st than loans, do credit unions give their members? A. The opportunity for low-co- t convenient, systematic, habitual saving regular, and a good return on sav- ings. A personal interest in the member as a person, not merely as a customer or a source of profit. Sympathetic service; emergency loans often made at odd hours of the day and night and on short notice. Finanhonest cial counseling to calculated counseling serve the members best interests, not planned for maximum income to the institution. A credit rating based on character first, collateral second. Family financial counseling aimed the best use of the income they have. Full lending and saving service, comprehensive enough so a member only rarely has to go elsewhere for special reasons. Finally, sympathetic service in an atmosphere of mutual trust and mutual benefit. . ' . NEWS, Monday, October 12, 1970 C? - I |