New Banking Benefit for MEC Members

by Lily Phoenix

Recently a woman newly arrived to Mendocino County stopped in at the MEC for our recommendation on local banks. We ended up discussing the ideal of non-profit member-owned banks that loan their funds back to members and keep the funds in the community, and this led us to investigate the question of credit union membership for our members as a way of putting this ideal into practice. We chose to affiliate with Mendo-Lake Credit Union because their funds remain within their two counties.

For convenience, a brochure is being mailed with the newsletter. To become a member you complete an application, indicate that you are an MEC member (your family automatically becomes eligible also), pay a $1.00 membership fee (which is lifetime even if you move away), and put a minimum $25.00 deposit into savings. To open a checking account you must maintain a minimum $100.00 balance in savings. A $4.00 per month service charge applies to those interest bearing checking accounts that fall below a $1,000 minimum balance in any month, and to non-interest bearing checking accounts that fall below a $500.00 minimum balance. Checks are available only in duplicate style, because cancelled checks are not returned by the bank. If you ever need to produce a photocopy of a cancelled check they will provide it for a fee. For more information drop in at the Ukiah main office at 526 South State Street, or call 468-0161.

Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2004
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited


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Last Update: 6/28/04