Who Can Belong to a Credit Union?

Credit Unions have been around in some form or fashion for hundreds of years. Everyone from Japanese farmers to German industrial workers have benefited from the idea that a population with a common bond can also work together to provide financial stability in areas that more formal banks will not. Still, for many hard working Americans, credit unions were tied to your job, or maybe even the union or trades group to which previous generations belonged.

In the United States, credit unions began to take hold in the early 1900s in New England. French Speaking immigrants formed the St. Mary’s Cooperative Credit Association for the members of their church in 1908 and then began to spread far and wide across the quickly growing country. While traditional banks were interested in low risk, well-established customers, this was no help to people who had good character but no significant means.

By working together, members of a community could provide each other with levels of financial services like loans that they would have never accomplished on their own. But, to make the institution successful, early developers relied heavily on “bonds of association.” Basically, that means that if people in a credit union had some common ground: occupation, hometown, even place of worship, that they would be more likely to be a respectful and contributing member of the credit union. These bonds are why we typically think of credit unions belonging to a specific group (and their families) like doctors, teachers or even employees of a large corporation.

But, just like traditional banks have evolved over time, so too have the memberships to credit unions. While some credit unions still exist for associated groups, the national laws governing credit unions were loosened in 1998 with the passage of the Credit Union Membership Access Act. Since then, credit unions have opened up membership eligibility to include much larger, loosely defined groups.

The development of membership at the First Basin Credit Union follows this path as well. Originally a credit union for workers at the hospital, First Basin accepts membership from anyone who lives, works or worships in the Permian Basin. For as little as $25, West Texans can open a shareholder account with First Basin, and become part of the local financial institution. Come into one of our seven branches and we’ll get you all set up. No secret handshakes or insider passwords required.