(Almost) no credit unions in New York City, why?

Question

After relocating from the West Coast to New York City, I was surprised to find major banks on every street corner, but only very few credit unions. And of the few ones, many aren't even open to the general public - such as the "New York Times Employees Federal Credit Union", the "Actors Federal Credit Union" and so on.

I've had very positive experiences with credit unions and would like to continue doing business with them. Any insight into what's going on here? Did the big banks chase (no pun intended) the CUs away from their home territory? Can anyone recommend a good CU in the general NYC area?

score 5 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 14 '13 at 15:51

5

There are 2 credit unions in the Metro NY area that are open to everyone:

Montauk CU, 111 W. 26th St, NYC
Melrose CU, 13930 Queens Blvd, Briarwood.

You might also want to check out aSmarterChoice.org to see if there are other credit union options based on where you live, work, worship & more.

edited Jan 14 '13 at 15:51

Chris W. Rea

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answered Jan 14 '13 at 15:20

BSklar

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score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 07 '13 at 02:04

I would have been tempted to dismiss your claim, but the data I found shows that you're correct.

On the plus side, the growth rate in credit union market share is higher in New York than it is in California.

While there is no question that bankers hate credit unions, I can't tell you why credit unions have a smaller market share in NY. Maybe the regulatory environment is part of it. Banks have a big lobby, and they pay a lot of taxes in NYC.

(Almost) no credit unions in New York City, why?

2 Answers2