Acting State Economist Galen Rose of the Maine State Planning Office was the keynote speaker recently at a roundtable organized by the League to discuss the potential impact of BRAC and the economy overall.
“Because all credit unions are local and members live and work in the communities that credit unions’ serve, the role of Maine’s credit unions could be significant if the BRAC Commission’s recommendations, along with other potential economic uncertainty, comes to fruition,” Maine Credit Union League President John Murphy told credit union leaders from across the state at an Economic Roundtable hosted by today by the League at its headquarters in Westbrook. Many attending were from communities in York, Cumberland and Aroostook counties, all which would be directly impacted by the BRAC decisions.
In his presentation, Rose, who helped to compile much of the data that was presented by the Maine delegation to the BRAC Commission, commended credit unions for taking the initiative in this process by seeking as much information about the potential impact of BRAC and using that information to better understand how the entire state would be affected.
Many credit union leaders discussed ways that they are already working with members during economic uncertainty to reduce the impact from economic factors in the community. From offering free financial counseling to restructuring loans, Maine’s credit unions are taking a proactive and leadership role in this process. “Credit unions have a long-standing tradition of helping communities during difficult times,” Murphy said. “That is why credit unions are actively involved in this discussion. Discussing economic decisions that would have statewide ramifications is the right thing to do. Using the information as a tool to help consumers better understand the effect that the economy can have on their financial well-being is part of the mission of credit unions.”
Founded in 1938, the Maine Credit Union League is the State Trade Association for Maine’s 74-affiliated credit unions providing a variety of services and products to assist Credit Unions in meeting the needs of their membership. For more information, visit www.mainecul.org.
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