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North American statistics
Credit unions are called caisses populaires in French speaking communities of
Canada. This one is located in Shediac, New Brunswick.Canada has the highest per
capita use of credit unions in North America, with more than a third of the
population enrolled in one. (ref: World Council of Credit Unions) They are
concentrated in Quebec, where they are known as caisses populaires (people's
banks), and on the Western prairies. As of Dec. 31 2005 there were 568 member
caisses and 5.4 million retail members in the Caisses Populaires Desjardins
federation. According to data from Credit Union Central of Canada on the same
date there were 10.7 million retail members controlling CAD $180 billion in
assets across all of Canada.
In the United States, credit unions have 86 million members, which is 43.47% of
the economically active population. In the US, federal credit unions may apply
to the National Credit Union Administration for Low-Income Credit Union or LICU
status. To qualify for LICU status, the majority of the credit union's
membership meet specific requirements in order to be considered "low-income".
This LICU status allows the credit unions to benefit from certain NCUA programs
to enhance its capacity to serve underserved populations who may otherwise lack
access to credit or other financial services. In addition, some state regulators
also provide for similar low-income designations.
Unlike banks, which were caught redlining underserved areas in the 1970s, credit
unions are not subject to federal "community reinvestment" requirements --
essentially because credit unions, by their nature and mission of "people
helping people," already meet the financial needs of a broad spectrum of people
that fall within their fields of membership, and play an active role in
community development and growth. Because of that, credit unions have
successfully lobbied to exempt themselves from the (U.S. federal) Community
Reinvestment Act, the law that forces banks to provide services in low-income
areas.
As of the end of 2005, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) insured
more than $515 billion in deposits at 8,695 nonprofit cooperative US credit
unions. For comparison, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured
more than $3,000 billion in deposits at 8,900 banks and thrift institutions. The
NCUA and the FDIC are both independent federal agencies backed by the full faith
and credit of the US government.
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