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Profile: Where art thou common bond?
(Source: NCUA)
(Source: NCUA)
During the
same time period of 12/94 – 12/05, total assets and total loans at Greylock tripled. Assets as of
12/05 are $825 million and total loans are
$561 million. Total deposits and shares also increased 173 percent from
$241 million to $659 million.
(Source: NCUA)
(Source: NCUA)
In addition
to its growth in assets, deposits and loans, Greylock increased its
amount of business loans outstanding from none in 1994 to $44.2 million
in 2005 -- quite an increase. Surely, broad-based commercial lending was never in
the purview of the “common bond” status of this or any other credit
union. (Source NCUA) Click to hear
an excerpt
To be, or not to be – taxed? That is the question.
Greylock Federal Credit Union
Greylock Federal Credit Union has over $800 million in assets, yet pays
no state or federal income taxes. Its net income or profit for 2005 was $4.6
million. Thus it avoided paying $1.7 million in income taxes last year
alone. It now holds accumulated profits, otherwise known as retained
earnings, totaling $74 million.
Its original “common bond” charter was issued in 1935 for Pittsfield G.E.
Employees Credit Union (PGEECU) “for the purpose of assisting employees
to save and to provide low-cost loans for provident purposes.” PGEECU
began offering mortgages in the 1960s and in 1979 began to offer
checking accounts. IRAs were introduced in 1982.
In 1994, as a result of the downsizing of General Electric Company,
PGEECU changed its field of membership to include anyone who lives or
works in Berkshire County. At this point, it also changed its name to
Greylock. Subsequently, Greylock petitioned the NCUA to convert to a
federally-chartered, community-based credit union and this charter
became effective November 21, 1995 -- quite a metamorphosis.
According to its
website, membership in Greylock Federal Credit Union is open to the following:
Greylock has 10 Massachusetts branch locations in the following towns:
Adams, Great Barrington (2 including a loan production office), Lee, North Adams,
Pittsfield (5 offices). It also has 10 ATM locations.
This credit union has experienced phenomenal growth. In the period from
December of 1994 to December of 2005, the number of employees, as well as
its membership, more than doubled. Employees increased from 88 to 190,
and membership from 28,980 to 59,866 in the same time period. (Source: NCUA)
Many people have criticized credit unions for moving so far beyond their
common bond mission that anyone with a pulse could become a member. Lo
and behold, recently Greylock proved it by
running a radio commercial that said exactly that.
