Patelco Credit Union’s 2021 Annual Meeting is being held today virtually. The following is an excerpt from a Credit Union Times story of December 17, 2002 about the credit union:
SAN FRANCISCO-Patelco Credit Union caught the eyes of the credit union community in 2002 when it announced its plan to convert from federal deposit insurance to a private fund.
Patelco’s members overwhelmingly passed the measure to convert to the American Share Insurance fund with 40,734 votes in favor out of a total 66,755 or more than 61%. Only 20% of the credit union’s membership or 38,241 total votes were required for the decision.
Patelco’s conversion was spurred by the credit union’s $480 million in uninsured deposits, which was only growing with the current flight to safety. ASI provides primary deposit insurance coverage up to $250,000 per account and does not limit the number of accounts an individual can have insured. The National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund provides just $100,000 in coverage per account for a limited number of accounts per member.
Additionally, “one size fits all” regulation from NCUA through the NCUSIF was also cited at Patelco’s Web site. The conversion of the $2.9 billion credit union is the largest to date.
While acknowledging the conversion as an individual credit union decision to convert, the switch was not particularly well received by the NCUA Board members. . .
A Reminder for Today
The members’ voice is empowering when called upon.