ROCKVILLE, Md. — Lindsay Alexander, CEO of the $358 million National Institutes of Health Federal Credit Union, said her CU's chief competition was not restricted to any one financial institution but belonged instead to the whole world of competitors who seemed to offer NIH members more convenient access to products and services.

"As an employee-sponsored credit union, we have to compete in the broader community without being able to draw from the entire community," Alexander said. "We have found that convenience, particularly for our younger members, is a very high priority so we have launched some new initiatives, particularly over the Web through very safe and secure connections, to try to meet that need."