Recently there has been a great deal written about the end of the free checking account for consumers. Websites, magazines and newspapers have all but buried the free checking account. Luckily, to paraphrase Mark Twain, the death of the free checking account has been greatly exaggerated. Free checking accounts are alive and well at most [...]

A year ago we reported on an economy that was on the ropes, the housing market in a tailspin, unemployment near double digit levels and multiple bank failures. 2010 brought very little change to this bleak financial picture. The economy is still trying to regain traction and move forward, home values are still not anywhere [...]

In September 2008 when the credit crisis was most critical, the stock market took a nosedive and unemployment rates skyrocketed. The bleak economic outlook took its toll on consumer confidence. In reaction to these events MCU initiated Holiday Skip-a-Pay. The popularity of this member benefit was phenomenal. During the months of November ’08 and December [...]

Last year Congress passed the CARD (Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure) Act to protect consumers from usurious rates and unfriendly terms by credit card issuers. The first phase of the legislation took effect last August. It required statements for open-ended loans to be sent at least three weeks prior to the due date, giving [...]

As we survey the financial landscape after a volatile 2009, we are pleased to report that Members Credit Union fared quite well. In a year in which over 140 banks failed as well as 28 credit unions, Members Credit Union maintained a strong capital to asset ratio of just under 10%, increased assets by 11% [...]

If you are reading this you are probably already a credit union member, yet your primary financial institution may still be a megabank. So, I ask you, what has your bank done for you lately? Since 2008 banks have accepted hundreds of billions of dollars in federal bailout money, raised their already excessive fees to [...]

Last September, the credit crisis became official with the collapse of Wall Street mainstay Lehman Brothers. Although the Main Streets and country roads of North Carolina are far away from New York City we could not escape the aftershocks of this economic disaster. The stock market plummeted. Unemployment soared. Consumer credit dried up. Consumer confidence [...]

Recently released government figures reveal what many of you already knew – Americans have rediscovered the importance of thrift. The national savings rate in January jumped to 5% after checking in at around 0% as recently as last spring. The national spending rate has plummeted by 4.3%, the largest drop in almost 29 years. This [...]

I recently received two questions with a similar theme: My 403 b is losing money. i am putting in the max. amount right now w/ employer matching. am i better off leaving this alone or should i not put in the minimum and put the rest in cd’s? does the match make up more than [...]

Members Credit Union has a big announcement to make! Today we are launching our own economic stimulus package for our members – one we call the Holiday Skip-a-Pay Program. When times get tough for our members, we notice…because we’re members too. So, this November and December, we are going to allow members to delay their [...]