Founded on the basic democratic premise of the cooperative movement, credit unions believe that access to low-cost financial services is critical to the health and stability of ordinary citizens. In fact, nearly 80 million Americans trust their credit union to provide the services to improve their financial well being. Credit union membership offers many benefits. Services offered range from simple savings to home equity and mortgage loans to checking. Study after study has revealed that, on average, credit unions provide the best financial offerings with fewer fees, lower rates on loans and higher rates on savings. And credit unions continually score higher than all other financial institutions in consumer satisfaction surveys. Credit unions strive to deliver the best service possible to their most important assets–their members.