Australian Report: CUs Better Than Banks for Personal Loans

ABACUS

SYDNEY, Australia-Credit unions dominate the annual list of five-star personal loan products compiled by CANNEX, an Australian financial services research group.

Thirty-eight of the 45 products awarded five stars on the CANNEX list belonged to credit unions. Five stars are used to indicate products that deliver superior value, based on interest rates, set-up fees, continuing costs and features.

This is the first time that banks have been excluded from the five-star section of the annual review of personal loan products at Australian financial institutions.

The remaining five-star products on the list included five provided by building societies and two from financial services companies.

Anthony Sexton, CANNEX senior research analyst, noted that big is not always better when it comes to financial services. While major banks make most personal loans in Australia, he said, "Credit unions offer better products." Australia's 143 credit unions serve more than 3.5 million members.

World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) is the global trade association and development agency for credit unions. WOCCU promotes the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services. WOCCU advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions' financial performance and increase their outreach.

WOCCU has implemented more than 275 technical assistance programs in 71 countries. Worldwide, 53,000 credit unions in 100 countries serve 188 million people. Learn more about WOCCU's impact around the world at www.woccu.org.