Recently, I received an autoloan refinance promotion offer in the mail that put a damper on thegood work so many credit unions are doing in the community.

I live in Southern California. The credit union that mailed theoffer is on the East Coast.

Some credit unions have a national field of membership; thisisn't one of them.

The envelope teaser didn't literally say anyone could join, a marketing pitch some regulators havewarned credit unions shouldn't use. However, it did assure methat even though I'm not an employee of the namesake selectemployer, I could still get great deals at the credit union.

How could I qualify for membership? The loan offer didn't say,not even in the disclosures.

A quick search of the credit union's website revealed one ofthose despicable back door membership associations banks use onCapitol Hill to support their argument that the credit union taxexemption should be abolished.

Should the Federal Credit Union Act be amended to eliminate or modernize the common bond requirement? I think so. However, the political payoff required to executethat legislative victory may be a price the community is unwillingto pay.

And let's not get ahead of ourselves. It hasn't happenedyet.

This particular credit union's association doesn't appear to beone invented by the credit union solely for the sake of growingmembership, but the website offered complimentary membership tothose interested.

Anyone who responds to the refi offer will only be joining theassociation to get the loan. While membership in the associationdoesn't violate the FCUA in form, this use of associations tocircumvent the common bond requirement violates the substance ofthe act. That's a slippery slope, folks. It's unlikely Congresswill undertake major tax reform, but if it happened and the bankertax exemption message gained traction, promotions like this woulddeserve the blame.

Unfortunately, that wasn't even the worst thing about thisoffer.

The credit union bragged that it could lowermy current monthly payment by $100, which it said means more cashin my pocket. I'm sure many consumers would think that was a prettygood deal.

But I'm not your average consumer. After 25 years in thefinancial services industry, I know my way around APR, loan termsand fine print details.

To say the devil was in the details is an understatement.

To save $100 per month, I would have to refinance my remaining54-month loan into a 75-month loan. And, the credit union's bestavailable rate was 40 basis points higher than what I'm currentlypaying at my credit union. My. Credit. Union.

I'll buy the argument that some consumers really need that $100per month. But shouldn't there be another way – or at least aneffort to find another way – than a loan that poaches off anothercredit union and features a higher rate and a longer term?

Only financially illiterate consumers, or those who wereintentionally misled, would take that offer. So much for peoplehelping people.

More assets may pay off for members in economy of scale.However, if the new members are financially illiterate and have noemotional or social bond to the credit union, will those loansactually pay off financially? Furthermore, what will one creditunion's gain cost other credit unions in lost business, not tomention the entire community in political capital?

I'm privileged to know retired credit union CEO John Tippets,who grew the Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines FCU into theexcellent $6 billion institution Angie Owens runs today. He alsocame out of retirement to save two credit unions that alreadyhad one foot in the grave.

Not only is John a brilliant and principled credit union leader,he's also a fine American and a fascinating man. And, for no otherreason I can figure other than God loves me, he's taken an interestin the work I do at CU Times, offering encouragement,praise and some occasional criticism when needed.

Many of you have probably caught his leadership principles presentation at industry conferences. Ifyou haven't, I highly recommend it.

Some of John's 12 Principles outlined below should be applied tocredit union loan offers like the one I received.

Do the right thing. John's very first rule isto always do the right thing. We have choices of actions andsometimes there is pressure to make a decision one way or another.Bankers bend and break the rules, and I appreciate how infuriatingthat is. However, that doesn't give credit unions the right to jointhem.

Don't do anything stupid. Often, there is not aclear right choice and there may be multiple right options. That'swhere this second rule comes into play.

It's the members' money! Every decision shouldbe a reminder to do what is truly in the interest of member-owners.Don't grow your credit union at the expense of members by trickingthem into a loan offer that is worse than what they currentlyhave.

Do no harm. Think about the consequences ofyour actions and make things better, not worse. Don't just consideryour credit union and its members, but the entire community.

Otherwise, we're only an industry, not a community.

Heather Anderson is executive editor of CU Times. She can bereached at [email protected].