Mayor Bloomberg Calls for Depository Choice in State of the City Address

• by Credit Union Association of New York

ALBANY, NY (01/21/2010)(readMedia)-- Another significant show of support for New York credit unions came during Mayor Michael Bloomberg's State of New York City address, which he presented yesterday afternoon.

In his speech, the Mayor expressed strong support for the deposit of public funds with credit unions.

"With Albany's approval, we'll also strengthen neighborhood-friendly credit unions, which reach out to customers who may have never had a bank account. We'll seek to deposit $25 million in City tax dollars in federally insured and regulated credit unions," shared Bloomberg. "It's a relatively small amount of City resources, but it will have a big impact by allowing credit unions to make more loans to more low-income families."

"We applaud Mayor Bloomberg for his support of credit unions and recognize his leadership to achieve enactment of the necessary state legislation that will allow municipalities to have depository choice," said William J. Mellin, president/CEO of the Credit Union Association of New York.

"Credit unions are well positioned to play a prominent role in the economic revitalization in New York City and to provide enhanced services to New Yorkers, especially low income families. As New York City works towards the goals and vision outlined by Mayor Bloomberg, we will explore every opportunity to partner with him to achieve those goals.

Bloomberg joins a growing group of influential elected leaders and organizations calling for municipal depository choice. Just last week, Governor Paterson called for action to expand municipal depository choice as part of his mandate reform agenda. He reiterated his position in the executive budget released Jan. 19.

Currently, only commercial banks are permitted to accept municipal deposits, limiting the options provided to local governments for managing and growing their money.

Allowing credit unions to accept municipal deposits would increase competition for the funds, producing lower fees, more favorable loan terms and higher deposit rates for local governments. Local governments would also benefit from credit unions' dedication to meeting community needs.

Groups submitting resolutions in favor of depository choice include: Association of Towns, New York State Association of Counties, New York Council of Mayors, Firemen's Association of the State of New York, Albany Common Council, and New York City Common Council.

Credit unions, as not-for-profit, service-driven financial institutions, offer fewer fees and higher savings interest rates. More importantly, they are 100-percent locally owned. Municipal deposits would enable them to further reinvest in their communities by offering more loans to members, small businesses and more.

The Credit Union Association of New York has served as the trade association for the state's credit unions for 92 years. New York credit unions have assets of more than $48 billion and 4.3 million members. To learn more about the Association, visit www.cuany.org.

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