five years there will be fewer than 9,000 credit unions, and the same sort of consolidation is taking place in the banking industry. The institutions that survive, however, are expected to be the most financially fit (Lemmon 14-15).
Credit unions differ from banks in a number of respects, including the way they charge for services and the way they make a profit. Credit unions to date still use fees to address misuse or abuse and not to encourage use of an account. Some are now charging for services such as ATMs and share drafts because of the higher cost of these services. Credit unions have now entered labor-intensive service areas such as mortgages, and fees are the norm for such services. Credit unions still usually charge less than do banks. It costs credit unions more to provide ATM services than it does banks, but often the credit union does not pass these costs on to the member. Fees do not represent a major portion of income for credit unions, though they have increas
...