When you opened your account at Perfect Circle Credit Union, you became more than just a customer, you became an owner. That’s because credit unions aren’t like banks owned by stockholders; they are cooperatives owned by the members who deposit their money there. As member-owned cooperatives, credit unions are not-for-profit and democratically controlled by their members. Credit unions are invested in their communities – not in the stock market.
What does this mean for you? Because Perfect Circle Credit Union is not-for-profit, any earnings not needed to help build reserves or invest in the credit union’s operations is returned to members through higher rates on savings, lower rates on loans, and lower fees on services. Unlike for-profit financial institutions that need generate revenue for stockholders, credit unions invest their revenues in serving their members.
This makes us a little bit different. Our board of directors is made up of members of the credit union and our team works hard to be sure that our member-owners have the services they need and the positive experiences they deserve. From the very beginning, Congress recognized that credit unions were different, too. Because of credit unions’ not-for-profit, cooperative structure, credit unions are exempt from federal income taxes. The savings is an important part of our structure and helps allow us to provide important financial services to our members and make an impact in our community.
Our not-for-profit structure and tax status doesn’t always make us popular with the for-profit banking industry, but our ability to focus directly on you rather than a bottom line for stockholders is truly what gives us an advantage. Credit union members save millions of dollars more per year than if they could only go to a bank, and these savings far outweigh the value of the tax exemption. Credit unions are an important, consumer-focused part the financial services marketplace. You can learn much more about the credit union difference here.
So, thank you for being a member of Perfect Circle Credit Union. You’re more than just a number, more than just a customer…you’re an owner!