PASADENA, Calif. – A popular radio consumer finance show recently talked up the credit union difference with Wescom Credit Union Senior Vice President of Corporate Development Joel Chavarin on air.

Credit unions were prominently featured in the 9 a.m.-10 a.m. segment of the three-hour Money 101 program on KNX 1070 AM news radio in Los Angeles Friday morning.

"It was a great experience," Chavarin said. "It was a unique opportunity to promote the credit union difference."

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The segment was inspired by a May 6 "Green Thumb" column in The Wall Street Journal, in which Ron Lieber wrote that consumers can save "a lot of money" at credit unions via higher interest rates on deposits and lower loan rates.

Money 101 Host Bob McCormick interviewed Chavarin about credit union rates compared with banks, how credit unions differ from banks, and how to find and join a credit union.

According to McCormick, the show always has callers discussing credit unions. During the show several Los Angeles-area credit unions were well represented by member-callers, including: Wescom CU, Foothill Federal CU, First Entertainment CU and Lockheed Federal CU. Callers spoke not of just saving money on loans and earning more on deposits, but also discussed how much easier it was to deal with credit unions than banks.

McCormick characterized credit unions as offering "universally better rates than banks," especially in the area of auto loans. "I advise you to look at credit unions," he said. He ended the segment by referring listeners to the "Credit Union Match Up" Web site at www.ccul.org to find credit unions they are eligible to join.

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