At press time, the federal government shutdown was in its secondfull day. Reports are mixed regarding how long it could last—somestill maintain it will be over in a few days, while others insistthe political impasse could drag on for weeks.

While the majority of Americans have expressed displeasure withthe current state of affairs, it's federal employees who are theunhappiest. Obviously, the loss of pay is problematic. However, thenature of federal employees—many served in the military and keeptheir household budgets as orderly as their high-and-tighthaircuts—makes the uncertain outcome even tougher to bear.

Good thing so many of those folks are credit union members. Myemail inbox at Credit Union Times has been flooded thisweek with releases from credit unions detailing assistance they canprovide to affected federal employees and contractors that serveaffected agencies. Some releases were disappointingly self-servingand offered nothing new. However, most credit unions are goingabove and beyond the call of duty in offering members flexibilitywith loan payment due dates, waiving late payment and overdraftfees, and for some, even covering missing paychecks.

Scott Credit Union in Edwardsville, Ill., is one such creditunion. The $930 million institution will allow affected members toborrow 100% of their most recent net two-week pay, presumablyinterest free or at a very low rate. President/CEO Frank Padak toldCUNA his credit union will help members cover their next paycheckor two and give them up to six months to repay the amount.

The $5 billion VyStar Credit Union in Jacksonville, Fla., hasalso stepped up to the payroll plate, processing Tuesday's directdeposits for federal workers as if the credit union received thegovernment funds. The credit union will also cover Oct. 15 payrollsif needed and is promoting emergency loans, increasing credit linelimits, expediting credit card approvals and waiving penalties oncertificate withdrawals.

Wowsah! Just think of all the fee income these credit unions areleaving on the table in the name of service. While those of us wholive and breathe the credit union philosophy think nothing of that,in our profit-at-any-cost culture, these gestures are reallyremarkable.

I'm sure many bankers are working with their affected customers,too. However, when I visited the webpages of the IndependentCommunity Bankers of America and the American Bankers Association,I couldn't find one single news release bragging about suchefforts. That is a stark contrast to CUNA and NAFCU's websites,which provide example after example of how credit unions arestepping up to the plate to help members affected by the shutdown.NAFCU even created an entire Web page that, credit union by creditunion, lists assistance available to members.

Here in Washington, we tend to think the shutdown primarilyaffects our region. However, the Washington Post publishedan interesting infographic in today's commuter paper that revealsour nation's capital ranks No. 4 on the list of metropolitan areaswith the highest percentage of federal workers, which includes themilitary.

Colorado Springs, Colo., ranked first, with nearly 19% ofits workforce drawing federal paychecks. Virginia Beach, Va., andHonolulu tied for second with 17.2% of its workforce in the federalcategory. Other metro areas on the list include El Paso, Texas;Ogden, Utah; San Diego; Augusta, Ga.; San Antonio; and Charleston,S.C.

That list really drives home how much the shutdown will affectthe entire country. Not only will federal workers in those citiessee their incomes temporarily drop, the retailers that serve themwill, too. The shutdown has already impacted my household budget;my self-employed husband's federally employed clients will have todelay paying their invoices. Our Christmas travel arrangements willhave to wait.

While credit unions will walk away from additional late fees andoverdraft charges, they could see an increase in credit cardbalances as federal workers and those who depend upon them turn totemporary financing. However, I have a feeling most will do withoutrather than increase debt loads, at least for now.

Personally, I'd rather take a wait-and-see approach to ourholiday travel plans and delay purchasing airfare rather than incurinterest charges … but then again, I've been fed a steady diet ofthrift since my first credit union internship in the late 1980s. Imight not be typical of your members.

Still, credit unions have a golden opportunity to furtherposition themselves as consumer-friendly financial serviceproviders as bankers stand silent during the shutdown. Judging byhow many press releases I've received this week, plenty of creditunion marketing executives see this opportunity, too. Let's hope itpays off in real dollars down the road.