TFCU, MY CREDIT UNION...

recently started charging members $3 for money orders and I was a bit puzzled because it claimed not to have been harmed by the Big Shitpile. What I didn't know at the time is that all credit unions pay into a fund that serves as insurance in case a credit union gets into serious trouble. A very large one in Kansas did just that and the rest are being asked to pony up more $$$ to replenish the fund. Something went very wrong in Kansas.

Kansas credit union's woes will cost the entire industry
By Mark Davis | Kansas City Star
Posted on Sunday, March 15, 2009

Now, credit unions nationwide face an extra burden to help shore up Lenexa-based U.S. Central Credit Union.

Dramatic declines in the value of mortgage-backed securities bought by U.S. Central have left the industry behemoth owing others more than its own assets are worth.

U.S. Central’s deficit, which exceeds $5 billion, helped trigger a $4.7 billion assessment against the country’s 8,400 credit unions, from the billion-dollar giants to the throng of one- and two-employee shops.

Collectively, the added financial load dwarfs the entire industry’s profit last year. Only one in six Kansas City-area credit unions, which serve nearly 500,000 members, earned enough last year to cover its coming bill.