Ohio Credit Unions Loan Members $237M – Study

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio credit unions offer substantial financial benefits to members, according to the Credit Union National Association’s Mid-Year 2019 Ohio Membership Benefits Report.

Datatrac, the research firm behind CUNA’s report, finds that credit unions in Ohio provided its 3 million members nearly $237 million in direct financial benefits between June 2018 and June 2019. That means, on average, credit union members received the equivalent of $79 each and that households received an average of $166.

Credit unions are member-owned and democratic, allowing these not-for-profit financial institutions to focus their efforts on creating value for members, says Paul Mercer, president of the Ohio Credit Union League.

Credit unions also tend to offer lower average interest rates on personal unsecured loans, fixed-rate first mortgages, adjustable-rate first mortgages, home equity loans, credit cards and new and used auto loans, Miller adds. An example cited in Datatrac’s report shows that financing a new $25,000 automobile for 60 months at a typical Ohio credit union would save borrowers an average of $545 over the life of the loan.

“This report illustrates how credit unions are operating on the philosophy of people helping people through great financial benefits and making life more affordable for millions of Ohioans,” Miller says.

Ohio’s 261 credit unions serve 3.03 million members — 25% of Ohioans belong to a credit union, according to the report. There are 750 credit union branches across the state and collectively they have total assets exceeding $32.2 million.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.