WASHINGTON – Nearly two decades after Bank-Fund Staff FCU unofficially disaffiliated from the D.C. Credit Union League, changing dynamics in the credit union, the League and CUNA have convinced Bank-Fund Staff it's time to affiliate with the groups once again. Bank-Fund Staff's affiliation with the D.C. League brings to 65 the number of D.C.-based CUs that are League affiliated. League President Ed Wills says it's difficult to determine the affiliation rate of D.C.-based CUs because many of them have moved their headquarters to nearby Virginia or Maryland. But since they continue to pay League dues, they still consider themselves to be D.C.-based credit unions. "We are very pleased Bank-Fund Staff FCU has decided to join us and we look forward to serving them," said Wills. With $1.8 billion in assets and more than 50,000, Bank-Fund Staff FCU is the largest District-based credit union. The League's dues are asset based, with the top category having a maximum of $13,000 annually, and that's the category Bank-Fund Staff will fall into. At the other extreme, the smallest credit union that's affiliated with the D.C. League is John Wesley AME Zion Church FCU which has about $80,000 in assets and a little more than 200 members. That credit union is in the $50-$817 dues category, and it pays $78.25 annually. Mary Lee Kingsley, Bank-Fund Staff FCU director of marketing and member relations said the credit union was similarly looking forward to working closely with the D.C. League. She explained that back in the early 1980s – "when we were much smaller and more inward looking" – the credit union belonged to the League. "But the fit was negligible at best because the League's focus at the time was advertising to the metro area market, and that didn't match our field-of-membership. At that time we didn't find any continuing need to belong to an organization that had a focus that didn't serve our purposes. Their radio advertising meant very little to our members then because we didn't have a lot of name recognition, nor did we have a lot of members spread out. There was no real dynamic going on," said Kingsley, who added that Bank-Fund Staff FCU never formally disaffiliated from the League. Instead, she said, "we just stopped paying our dues." Fast forward 20 years, and Kingsley said Bank-Fund Staff "has grown considerably, and with growth comes responsibility. The League also has more to offer now." The credit union official said the decision whether to affiliate with the D.C. League had been under discussion "for sometime. It fits in with Bank-Fund Staff's strategic plan now." Of course by affiliating with the League, Bank-Fund Staff will also be able to avail itself of products and services CUNA offers such as training, education and other services in the compliance area. "These are areas that are truly important and demanding," said Kingsley, "and by affiliating with the League we'll have ready access to." -

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