What is a Credit Union?  
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Credit union motto: Not for profit, not for charity, but for service

A credit union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative. It is owned by its member depositors, governed by a volunteer board of directors elected by the membership, and staffed by financial service professionals. Credit unions are democratically controlled, and each member has a vote in directing credit union policy. Member savings are combined for the purpose of lending those dollars to member borrowers. Member borrowers repay their loans with interest used to pay dividends to member savers and to fund the cost of operating the credit union. Because credit unions have a nonprofit status, they can operate at lower costs than for-profit institutions, offering competitive savings and loan rates to members.

There are 570 credit unions in California and more than 9,000 in the U.S.  Of the 79 million credit union members nationwide, more than 8.5 million are in California.  With more than $1 billion in assets, Pacific Service Credit Union is the 21st largest credit union in California and among the largest credit unions in the U.S.

Credit Unions are safe
Video: Why your deposits are safe.

Historically, credit unions have operated in a very prudent manner and are closely regulated like other financial institutions.  In 1970, the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) was formed to insure members’ deposits, insuring deposits of 80 million credit union members at all federal and many state credit unions nationwide. 

The NCUSIF is administered by National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), an agency of the federal government.  Deposits are insured to at least $250,000 per account and IRAs are protected separately for up to $250,000.  The NCUSIF has had the strongest equity-to-insured risk ratio over the last decade of federal deposit insurance funds.  Not one penny of any insured savings has ever been lost by a member of a federally insured credit union.   Pacific Service Credit Union insures members’ shares through NCUA.

Joining a Credit Union
To join a credit union, you must be eligible for membership.  Members of each credit union share a “common bond,” such as people in a particular community or neighborhood, employee groups or members of an organization or association.  As a community-chartered credit union, Pacific Service CU offers membership in 12 Northern California counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Marin, Napa, Placer, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma. 

Who can join Pacific Service Credit Union?  

For more information about Credit Unions:

National Credit Union Administration	http://www.ncua.gov
Credit Union National Association	http://www.cuna.org
California Credit Union League	http://www.ccul.org
Callahan & Associates/CreditUnions.com	http://www.creditunions.com