National Cooperative Bank Ranks Credit Unions Among Highest Revenue Earners

WASHINGTON – Some of the industry's well-known credit unions continue to make the list of the country's highest-earning cooperatives. On Oct. 3, National Cooperative Bank released its annual ranking, which showed the following: $25 billion Navy Federal CU ranked 22; $40 billion U.S. Central CU ranked 52; $12 billion State Employees CU, Inc. ranked 64; $24 billion WesCorp ranked 76; and $7.9 billion Pentagon FCU ranked 95. All 100 of the cooperatives ranked earned at least $10.3 billion in revenues during 2004, according to NCB. "Overall, the nation's top 100 cooperatives increased revenues by almost $15 billion dollars in 2004, a 14 percent gain from the same period last year and the highest-ever yearly revenue," said Charles Snyder, NCB president/CEO. "This double-digit growth, rarely experienced in other business sectors, further demonstrates the vital role of cooperatives in the marketplace and the financial stability they bring to communities nationwide." In 2004, financial cooperatives maintained a solid presence on the NCB Co-op 100 list with 11 financial institutions ranking in the top 100, and a 2% increase in revenues from the previous year, NCB said. According to the National Cooperative Business Association, there are nearly 40,000 cooperatives in the United States. These entities exist in a cross-section of sectors including agriculture, grocery, hardware and lumber, finance, energy, housing and others. Many cooperatives on the NCB Co-op 100 list are household names such as ACE Hardware, Land O'Lakes and The Associated Press. -msamaad@cutimes.com