Recently, Sussex County Federal Credit Union made the announcement that they would officially become Tidemark Federal Credit Union.
The name represents the credit union as it expands on Delmarva, into Wicomico, Worcester, and Somerset counties.
What do you really know about a credit union? Kelsey Dunn and Chris Phillips, both business development officers with Tidemark Federal Credit Union, stop by the studio to tell us how we can benefit from a credit union.
Like all cooperatives, credit unions got started to fill a need. Cooperatives originally got their start in Germany in the early 1800’s. The first credit union in the United States was chartered in the state of New Hampshire in 1909 called St. Mary’s Cooperative Credit Association.
During the 1920’s, the U.S. credit union movement became increasingly popular. Families had more money to save and could afford products like automobiles and washing machines, but they needed a source of inexpensive credit to purchase these goods. The popularity of credit unions grew because commercial banks and savings institutions generally showed limited interested in offering such consumer loans.
Credit unions took on a new significance during the Great Depression. In 1934, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Federal Credit Union Act into law establishing a federal chartering system for credit unions as a means of providing much needed services and credit to consumers.
On the surface, they are exactly alike. Both offer savings, checking, auto loans, mortgage loans, etc. The real difference is not in the products, but in the ownership. Banks are for-profit companies while credit unions are not-for-profit cooperatives. Credit unions are owned by their members for the mutual benefit of their members.
Credit unions generally offer higher yields on savings accounts and lower interest rates on loans compared to banks. Credit unions also are less likely to charge fees or are more likely to have lower fees than banks. In addition, credit union presence in the marketplace makes bank pricing more consumer friendly than it otherwise would be.
Credit unions are safe. Like banks, federally chartered credit unions are federally insured and regulated and professionally managed. Also like banks, they range from small to large in size. Tidemark FCU is approximately $260 million in assets. The largest credit union is over $10 billion in assets. About 94% of federally insured credit unions are considered highly capitalized.
Tidemark was chartered in 1959 to serve the employees of the DuPont Nylon Capital Plant. Back then, there were over 13,000 credit unions serving the employees of most major employers. Over time, many of these employers closed and credit unions had to evolve. Some converted to community charters, some expanded to include numerous small employers, and some merged into larger credit unions.
Credit unions were designed to be cooperative financial institutions for people who share a common bond. Members of a credit union may work for the same company or organization, attend the same college, serve in the armed forces, belong to the same church or live in the same community.
Tidemark FCU happens to be a community credit union servicing businesses and people who live, work, worship, in Sussex, Wicomico, Worcester, and Somerset Counties. So if you live, work, or worship in any of those counties, you meet the criteria to join Tidemark.
