I agree completely agree with publisher Mike Welch in his Jan. 12 column, "Waving the Flag for Small Credit Unions Not Smart," when he said that it is unwise to say that only small credit unions "justify our long-standing tax exemption". I also agree that no credit union should be kept on life support just to serve as a "display" to protect our interests. However, I heartily disagree that small credit unions are not "real" credit unions or that members of small credit unions would be better served by merging them into larger ones. Our credit union is $18 million and competes head-on with many larger credit unions where our members are eligible and quite welcome to join. So why do they stay with us? We don't offer first mortgages, but we do just about everything else, and our members seem to like the way we do it. I believe that is true of most small credit unions, and those that really want to survive and grow most surely will. But they sure could use some assistance, including regulatory relief, and I believe that is what Deborah Matz and Joanne Johnson are trying to do – and with the very best interests of all credit unions at heart. Mary Shipe President/CEO Alhambra Credit Union Phoenix, Ariz.