A nd hey, instead of having just a few limited rich people owning everything, we'll all own it, and we'll hold elections for anyone who has some money in the pot, and we'll form a board of directors to run the fund. T hese people will have to give their own time, so it won't cost us anything, and we'll know since they're volunteering they're doing it with everyone's interest in mind. A nd with that, the bank customers withdraw their money and set up shop on their own, making everyone an owner and paying themselves more interest on deposits and charging less on loans than banks because they don't have to make sure that big profits go to a select few. A s explained above, YOUR credit union differs from banks in some fundamental ways. Here are some other ways your credit union is different, and why the credit union uses some of the strange terminology it does.
Most financial institutions have a board of directors.
What makes your credit union different is that these board members, all of whom belong to the credit union, volunteer their time to serve. Those volunteer directors are elected by the membership of the credit union. Not only do you have the opportunity to vote for members of the board, but you may run for the board as well. Credit unions earn profits, but that money is returned to you in dividends, lower fees or no fees, and reduced loan rates. The difference is that the credit union was organized to help members, not for the specific purpose of making money.