The credit union movement started in the first decade of the twentieth century. The key figure in the movement was Edward Filene, a capitalist and philanthropist who introduced the idea of cooperative finance upon returning from his trip to India. Instead of letting his workers leave work with their pay in hand, he thought that there had to be a better way. He conceptualized the idea of credit unions and with the help of Roy F. Bergengren, a law was passed and signed in 1934 that provided a means for establishing credit unions. However, it took the help of credit union field workers to instruct people about the benefits of pooling their funds. In 1970, credits unions took a massive change. With the institution of National Credit Union Association, credit unions were required to have federal deposit insurance. The pros were that their money and shares were insured but complete ownership and accountability was compromised. Some felt government supervision and regulation would burden the unions. However, once members received assurance of the safety of their money, the credit union movement expanded dramatically. Luckily, the concept of thrift was ingrained early in the movement. The slogan, “Pay yourself first”, taught that members should set aside personal savings in an account. Even to the poor did credit unions target with their ideas and felt that they were doing to community a service. Places known as the community development credit unions (CDCUs) solely operated to serve low-income communities. As of 2007, there were 8,410 separately chartered credit unions with a total membership of 88,251,444 and profits of over $757 billion. The largest is the Navy Federal Credit Union more than 3 million members and $35 billion. In conclusion, the credit union served as a means of incorporating thrift into savings and dealing with money. Nowadays, credit unions make up about 7% of the nations savings.
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