Credit Unions - Are these a good option for savers and should they be offered as an employee benefit

friolento

wmb194 said:

rich184 said:

wmb194 said:

Third rate and amateurish would be my assessment of credit unions. They'll never see widespread adoption until the silly, 'common bond' restriction is lifted.

That may be your experience but mine is very different!  My credit union has a strong digital service, pays a competitive return on my savings and a range of fairly priced loan options.  They provide financial education too.  Also, their average time to answer the telephone is 15 seconds.  Third rate and amateurish?  I don’t think so. 

Name names.

I am certain it cannot be the London Community Credit Union LCCU

flaneurs_lobster

I am certain it cannot be the London Community Gospel Choir

masonic

wmb194 said:

Third rate and amateurish would be my assessment of credit unions. They'll never see widespread adoption until the silly, 'common bond' restriction is lifted.

Some of them seem to get around the common bond restriction: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2020/february/pra-issues-two-bans-and-three-public-censures-following-failure

There were plenty of wrongdoing in the above case, but offering one of their products to any saver living in the UK wasn't raised as an issue in itself.

flaneurs_lobster

masonic said:

wmb194 said:

Third rate and amateurish would be my assessment of credit unions. They'll never see widespread adoption until the silly, 'common bond' restriction is lifted.

Some of them seem to get around the common bond restriction: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2020/february/pra-issues-two-bans-and-three-public-censures-following-failure

There were plenty of wrongdoing in the above case, but offering one of their products to any saver living in the UK wasn't raised as an issue in itself.

In actuality the "common bond" restriction is not really such (unless the individual CU considers it to be integral to their organisation's existence). Look at the LCCU addressed above, open to anyone who lives, works or studies in one of 7 London Boroughs (or lives with someone who does). Guesstimate says that's about 5 million people. Other CUs are open to anyone who's a Civil Servant, a teacher or works for the Health Service. Million each?

wmb194

flaneurs_lobster said:

masonic said:

wmb194 said:

Third rate and amateurish would be my assessment of credit unions. They'll never see widespread adoption until the silly, 'common bond' restriction is lifted.

Some of them seem to get around the common bond restriction: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2020/february/pra-issues-two-bans-and-three-public-censures-following-failure

There were plenty of wrongdoing in the above case, but offering one of their products to any saver living in the UK wasn't raised as an issue in itself.

In actuality the "common bond" restriction is not really such (unless the individual CU considers it to be integral to their organisation's existence). Look at the LCCU addressed above, open to anyone who lives, works or studies in one of 7 London Boroughs (or lives with someone who does). Guesstimate says that's about 5 million people. Other CUs are open to anyone who's a Civil Servant, a teacher or works for the Health Service. Million each?

And I don't meet any of those restrictions...

callum9999

flaneurs_lobster said:

masonic said:

wmb194 said:

Third rate and amateurish would be my assessment of credit unions. They'll never see widespread adoption until the silly, 'common bond' restriction is lifted.

Some of them seem to get around the common bond restriction: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2020/february/pra-issues-two-bans-and-three-public-censures-following-failure

There were plenty of wrongdoing in the above case, but offering one of their products to any saver living in the UK wasn't raised as an issue in itself.

In actuality the "common bond" restriction is not really such (unless the individual CU considers it to be integral to their organisation's existence). Look at the LCCU addressed above, open to anyone who lives, works or studies in one of 7 London Boroughs (or lives with someone who does). Guesstimate says that's about 5 million people. Other CUs are open to anyone who's a Civil Servant, a teacher or works for the Health Service. Million each?

Are you saying they're stretching the definition of common bond to make the term effectively meaningless or that some have catchments big enough to overcome the problems being cited with being restricted to a "common bond"?

If it's the former, as a former NHS worker I have a MUCH stronger bond with the other million plus workers than I have ever had with any other community (barring friends and family of course). It obviously won't apply to everyone, but even though I've never met most of them and never will, for me it was very much an "us against the country" mentality. I'd imagine the teaching profession would have a lot of people with a similar mindset.

masonic

flaneurs_lobster said:

masonic said:

wmb194 said:

Third rate and amateurish would be my assessment of credit unions. They'll never see widespread adoption until the silly, 'common bond' restriction is lifted.

Some of them seem to get around the common bond restriction: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2020/february/pra-issues-two-bans-and-three-public-censures-following-failure

There were plenty of wrongdoing in the above case, but offering one of their products to any saver living in the UK wasn't raised as an issue in itself.

In actuality the "common bond" restriction is not really such (unless the individual CU considers it to be integral to their organisation's existence). Look at the LCCU addressed above, open to anyone who lives, works or studies in one of 7 London Boroughs (or lives with someone who does). Guesstimate says that's about 5 million people. Other CUs are open to anyone who's a Civil Servant, a teacher or works for the Health Service. Million each?

It would appear not. For the one I mentioned, the only "common bond" members seemed to have is that they all wanted to open a fixed rate cash ISA that was paying a higher rate of interest than was offered by any bank or building society at the time. Perhaps this is enough. MSECU anyone?

wmb194

masonic said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

masonic said:

wmb194 said:

Third rate and amateurish would be my assessment of credit unions. They'll never see widespread adoption until the silly, 'common bond' restriction is lifted.

Some of them seem to get around the common bond restriction: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2020/february/pra-issues-two-bans-and-three-public-censures-following-failure

There were plenty of wrongdoing in the above case, but offering one of their products to any saver living in the UK wasn't raised as an issue in itself.

In actuality the "common bond" restriction is not really such (unless the individual CU considers it to be integral to their organisation's existence). Look at the LCCU addressed above, open to anyone who lives, works or studies in one of 7 London Boroughs (or lives with someone who does). Guesstimate says that's about 5 million people. Other CUs are open to anyone who's a Civil Servant, a teacher or works for the Health Service. Million each?

It would appear not. For the one I mentioned, the only "common bond" members seemed to have is that they all wanted to open a fixed rate cash ISA that was paying a higher rate of interest than was offered by any bank or building society at the time. Perhaps this is enough. MSECU anyone?

I see, that's funny. What about from the other side of the equation, though? I.e. the common bond required to take out a loan.

flaneurs_lobster

masonic said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

masonic said:

wmb194 said:

Third rate and amateurish would be my assessment of credit unions. They'll never see widespread adoption until the silly, 'common bond' restriction is lifted.

Some of them seem to get around the common bond restriction: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2020/february/pra-issues-two-bans-and-three-public-censures-following-failure

There were plenty of wrongdoing in the above case, but offering one of their products to any saver living in the UK wasn't raised as an issue in itself.

In actuality the "common bond" restriction is not really such (unless the individual CU considers it to be integral to their organisation's existence). Look at the LCCU addressed above, open to anyone who lives, works or studies in one of 7 London Boroughs (or lives with someone who does). Guesstimate says that's about 5 million people. Other CUs are open to anyone who's a Civil Servant, a teacher or works for the Health Service. Million each?

It would appear not. For the one I mentioned, the only "common bond" members seemed to have is that they all wanted to open a fixed rate cash ISA that was paying a higher rate of interest than was offered by any bank or building society at the time. Perhaps this is enough. MSECU anyone?

I haven't looked up the Laws/Regs on exactly what a Credit Union is but even the name would suggest that scoring a top-rated ISA probably isn't in there. Why did Enterprise the Business Credit Union Ltd set up as such rather than a Bank or a finance house? Cheaper? Less stringent regulation? 

It was 10 years ago, maybe the market and the regulators have moved to where this would no longer happen?

masonic

wmb194 said:

masonic said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

masonic said:

wmb194 said:

Third rate and amateurish would be my assessment of credit unions. They'll never see widespread adoption until the silly, 'common bond' restriction is lifted.

Some of them seem to get around the common bond restriction: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2020/february/pra-issues-two-bans-and-three-public-censures-following-failure

There were plenty of wrongdoing in the above case, but offering one of their products to any saver living in the UK wasn't raised as an issue in itself.

In actuality the "common bond" restriction is not really such (unless the individual CU considers it to be integral to their organisation's existence). Look at the LCCU addressed above, open to anyone who lives, works or studies in one of 7 London Boroughs (or lives with someone who does). Guesstimate says that's about 5 million people. Other CUs are open to anyone who's a Civil Servant, a teacher or works for the Health Service. Million each?

It would appear not. For the one I mentioned, the only "common bond" members seemed to have is that they all wanted to open a fixed rate cash ISA that was paying a higher rate of interest than was offered by any bank or building society at the time. Perhaps this is enough. MSECU anyone?

I see, that's funny. What about from the other side of the equation, though? I.e. the common bond required to take out a loan.

It appears a CU can have more than one common bond. So MSECU could cater to rate tarts of both persuasions: savers and borrowers. It could then, after a short time, be forced to close its doors when the weekly tip forces it to pull its products because its members stoozed its cheap loans into its market leading savings accounts.