A recent survey tells a story that we here at Washington State Employees Credit Union have always known to be true—co-ops like WSECU most definitely have their members’ best interests in mind.

For over 46 years we have dedicated ourselves to earning the trust of our member/owners and to making their lives easier. This dedication shines through in the breadth of financial products we offer, the friendliness of our employees, and in our not-for-profit cooperative structure that keeps money in our members’ pockets instead of shareholders’ retirement funds.

And now a survey of 2,031 adults conducted by the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) shows co-ops like us are on the right track. The survey revealed two-thirds of consumers believe businesses that are owned and governed by their consumers are more trustworthy than those who are not. This study also found that there was a large amount of trust given to those companies who were not only locally owned and controlled, but also allowed consumers to democratically elect their board of directors.

Our leader, Kevin Foster-Keddie, couldn’t agree more with the survey. According to Kevin, “It is the dedication and leadership of our member- elected, volunteer board of directors that helps WSECU keep our members’ best interest a focus of everything we do.”

The NCBA/CFA survey also found when participants were asked whether consumer co-ops have the best interests of consumers in mind when conducting business, 77 percent agreed they did. Co-ops like Washington State Employees Credit Union also rated higher than for-profit entities by a wide margin on questions pertaining to value, quality, price and commitment to the community.

Some of the more interesting results of the NCBA/CFA survey are:

• 81 percent of respondents agreed co-ops could be counted on to meet their customers’ needs.
• 79 percent said co-ops are committed to providing the highest quality of service to their customers.
• 78 percent voiced an opinion co-ops are involved in their communities.
• 77 percent agreed co-ops have the best interest of consumers in mind.
• 74 percent thought co-ops provide products and services that are of high value.
• 64 percent said co-ops offered the most competitive prices.

While the NCBA/CFA survey may be news to some, it isn’t to us here at Washington State Employees Credit Union -- or to our members. To find out more about what makes WSECU different from other financial institutions and why over 126,000 members put their trust in us, please click About WSECU.