Credit Union Timeline

Credit unions have a long history of helping people...

The idea of credit unions is born...
1849 Friedrich Raiffeisen started his first credit society in southern Germany.
1864 Friedrich Raiffeisen devises the credit union as we know it today: People cooperate with each other to save their money and loan it out to each other at a low rate. Their personal character is the principal security for loans.

The idea of credit unions is born...
1900 Alphonse Desjardins imports the credit union idea to Canada and creates the first credit union in North America in Levis, Quebec.
1907 Edward A. Filene, a prominent Boston merchant who founded the Filene's Basement store, becomes interested in credit unions after seeing similar groups in India.

Edward Filene -- known as the Father of the U.S. Credit Union Movement -- was a progressive thinker for his time and a strong advocate of workers' rights. This innovative businessman created the "bargain basement" retail idea, began profit-sharing plans for his employees, allowed his employees to engage in collective bargaining and arbitration, established minimum wages for female workers, and advocated a five-day, 40-hour week. In the early 1900s, such ideas were revolutionary. Filene was also one of the founders of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

 
The first credit union in the United States...
1909  Alphonse Desjardins forms the first credit union in the United States in New Hampshire. The first U.S. credit union law is passed in Massachusetts with aid from Alphonse Desjardins and Edward Filene.
1921 Edward Filene organizes The Credit Union National Extension Bureau to promote credit union development. Roy F. Bergengren, an attorney and friend of Edward Filene, is appointed to run the organization.

Credit unions in Ohio...
1931 The Ohio Legislature enacts The Ohio Credit Union Law. The first charter in Ohio is issued to Farm Bureau Employees Credit Union in Columbus.
1932 The first industrial credit union charter in Ohio is issued to Mead Employees Credit Union of Chillicothe. At this time, Ohio is home to 18 credit unions with 4,102 members and combined assets of $184,059.
1933 The first Chapter of credit unions is organized in Cleveland, as a group of credit union leaders organize to promote the credit union idea and share resources. Today, the state has 16 regional chapters.
1934 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Federal Credit Union Act … A group of nearly 100 credit union leaders from across the country meet in Estes Park, Colorado, to form the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), now one of the most influential trade associations in America. Roy Bergengren serves as CUNA's first managing director. Shortly after, delegates from 25 Ohio credit unions meet at the Columbus YMCA to organize the Ohio Credit Union League (OCUL).
1934 - 1945 The Ohio Credit Union League operates from an office in Cincinnati.
1935 CUNA Mutual Insurance Society is formed to protect the assets of credit unions and their members. The Ohio Credit Union League's member credit unions adopt a dues structure of one-half of one percent of the gross assets of a member credit union.
1937 The Federal Credit Union Act is amended to assure tax exempt status for credit unions. Credit unions earn the tax exempt status because of their non-profit, cooperative structure, which still exists today.
1940 Ohio has 578 credit unions with 196,705 members and combined assets of $12.7 million.
1945 The Ohio Credit Union League moves its office to Columbus so it can serve the state's credit unions from a more convenient central location.
1954 The League builds new headquarters at 1201 Dublin Rd. in Columbus, the first major headquarters building to be erected by a credit union league in any state. Funds for the building were donated by 80,000 credit union members across Ohio who contributed $1 each. The balance of the $180,000 construction cost was donated by the League’s member credit unions.
1958 CUNA becomes a worldwide association, open to credit union leagues all over the world.
1966 OCUL Data Processing Services Corporation is incorporated to perform data processing and other related services for Ohio credit unions.
1967 Ohio Governor James A. Rhodes signs Am. Sub. HB 296, modernizing the Ohio Credit Union Act. In 1969, the Act is further modernized by SB 230.
1970 CUNA International simplifies its name to Credit Union National Association, Inc. after it creates the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU). TRoday, WOCCU helps develop credit unions in countries all over the world. The Federal Credit Union Act is amended, creating the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), an independent federal agency that oversees and regulates federally chartered credit unions.
1971 Total assets of Ohio credit unions exceed $1 billion.
1973 OCUL Services Corporation evolves from OCUL Data Processing Services Corporation and is restructured to become a holding company which owns League Litho Services, Inc., and the OCUL Insurance Agency. Tax benefits and compliance with state insurance laws were the reason behind the formation of the OCUL Insurance Agency.
1974 CUNA starts The Certified Credit Union Executive Program, which educates and certifies credit union professionals.
1977 The building mortgage on the League headquarters at 1201 Dublin Road is paid off and the League Board celebrates with a mortgage-burning ceremony.
1983 The Ohio Valley Chapter is formed, the first Chapter to be organized in the state since 1960 … Louise Herring, the chief founder of the Ohio Credit Union League, is admitted to the Cooperative Hall of Fame.
 
A legal challenge...
1996 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rules that NCUA’s multiple-group policy is unlawful because, the Court said, the Federal Credit Union Act requires FCUs to have a single common bond. Delegates to CUNA’s Annual General Meeting ratify the full package of changes from CUNA’s Renewal Project at what has been called "the most historic CUNA annual meeting since the national association was formed in 1934."  The Ohio Renewal Committee is appointed to investigate potential improvement for the Ohio Credit Union League & Affiliates. William Herring of Cincinnati Central Credit Union is appointed the Committee’s first Chair, and vows to "determine what Ohio’s credit unions need, want, and expect" from their state-level organizations.
1997 The Credit Union Membership Act is introduced in Congress by U.S. Representative Steve LaTourette of Ohio. The legislation seeks to amend the Federal Credit Union Act by clarifying NCUA’s long-standing policy regarding the field of membership of federally-chartered credit unions.
1998 Congress overwhelmingly passes the Credit Union Membership Access Act. H.R. 1151 says credit unions, with regulator approval, may enroll members from outside their original membership groups, preserving consumers’ rights to belong to a credit union. Louise McCarren Herring, the Mother of Credit Unions, is posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Ohio Credit Union League moves to a new facility at 5815 Wall St., Dublin, Ohio.

Ohio Credit Union League