If you're feeling a little spooked by the news that major banks are in trouble -- you might be thinking of using other kinds of financial institutions.
When it comes to banking, conventional wisdom used to be, the bigger the better. But these are unconventional times.
"We have seen substantial growth."
Credit unions are now thriving nationwide.
Deposits are up 43 billion dollars this year.
That's 6.8 percent.
Bethpage federal credit union is up 11 percent because credit unions are not for profit & owned by members not investors.
They claim they can charge lower fees and offer lower interest rates.
"Better rates, better value and more trust."
"No fees for checking. Never paid a dime for a check."
It's not just credit unions seeing more traffic.
Community banks are also springing up.
The latest on Long Island, Empire National Bank.
Customers seem to like the ability to call the CEO on his cell phone as much as their more cautious lending practices.
"I can say not one of us has ever made a sub prime loan, so there are differences in banks, truthfully."
But Professor Andrew Spieler of Hofstra warns bigger can still be better.
All bank and credit union deposits are federally insured, so they are equally safe...but there are subtle differences.
"Community banks in particular have can only handle a small number of defaults; one or two defaults can throw off all their ratios."
