Business View Magazine | October 2020

71 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2020 The cooperative, membership-based model of banking offers a number of benefits. Most notably, credit unions are often able to offer higher returns on interest-earning accounts than traditional banks, as well as fewer and less fees, and lower interest rates on loans. “Our rates are highly competitive for both individuals and business members, there’s no question about that,” says Frank DeGraw, President and CEO of Sunmark Credit Union in Latham, New York. “But what really separates our institution and all credit unions from the broader financial system is our commitment to member service. These are not just customers or borrowers who are banking with our credit union; they are our owners, and we make sure our service levels reflect that unique relationship.” While once considered “the best kept secret” in financial services, credit unions in recent years have eked their way into the mainstream – driven in large part due to the widespread disillusionment with banks that occurred during and following the financial crisis a decade ago. In fact, it was that very sense of disillusionment that gave rise to credit unions in the first place. Credit unions were born out of the pervasive inequality in banking that existed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was usually fairly easy for the well-connected and wealthy to obtain access to credit and savings products. But the poor, working class and minority groups were frequently marginalized and excluded from the financial system. The idea of credit unions arose as other cooperative, member-owned societies were flourishing in Europe in mid-1800s. Eventually, the cooperative banking model made its way to Canada, then New Hampshire, and finally to New York and other states. By 1917, there were enough credit unions to warrant a statewide association that would unite the industry and align its priorities. The New York State Association of Credit Unions, which over the course of a century would undergo several name NEW YORK CREDI T UNION ASSOC I AT ION President & CEO of Sunmark Credit Union, Frank Degraw