Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Page8 Credit Association Is Valuable Fringe Benefit In 1986 Clinton Mills established the Clinton Credit Association as a fringe benefit for all associates. The Credit Association, located on Bailey Street adjoining the Personnel Department, is a financial institution owned by its mem bers. Deposits made by member savers are used to make competitive loans to other mem bers. Harvey Dickert, who has been with the company since March 1, 1966, as a mem ber of the Human Resources Department staff, is manager of the Association. As the Clothmaker went to press, the Association had 2,161 members. Deposits totalled $1,553,698 and 559 loans totall ing $1,044,659. There are many advantages to becoming a member of the Credit Association. Many associates find the convenience of having a financial person near the workplace very convenient. Numerous associates prefer using payroll deductions for loan payments as well as sav ings. Manager Harvey Dickert noted that the interest rate on savings as well as loans are very competitive with other financial institu tions. Deposits in the Clinton Credit Association are insured by the National Credit Union Administration which is an agency of the federal government. Deposits are insured up to $100,000 per eligible account. The Clinton Credit Association is open 8- 10:30 a.m., 12-1 p.m., and 3-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Share savings accounts currently earn 6 percent per annum dividend and certifi cates of deposits are available with rates ranging up to 8.1 percent for one year $5,000 certificates of deposit. Loan rates begin at 9 percent for new vehicles and vary according to the terms of the loan. CAR LOANS for less at the Credit Association ^ The Credit Association offers interest rates on loans which are competitive with the loan rates of other financial institutions. Multiple loan rates are available to members depending upon the collateral used to se cure a particular loan. Vehicle loans are not limited to cars and trucks. Recreational vehicles, motorcycles, boats and farm equipment can also be fi nanced. The Clinton Credit Association wants to provide f inancial services to all Clinton asso ciates. Therefore, once an associate has completed his/her probationary status with the company, he/she can apply for a loan, if a Credit Association member. Cosigners are sometimes used in approv ing loan applications. Through the use of cosigners, who are your fellow members, the Credit Association is able to make loans to members who may not obtain credit else where because they owe too much or have an unfavorable credit history. The number of cosigners required to secure a loan is deter mined by length of service, how much you owe, the amount of the loan, and work his tory. Your Credit Association provides mem bers with competitive rates on loans. The Credit Association was established to pre vent members from paying extremely high loan rates at some other financial institu tions. If you are in need of a loan, check with your Credit Association representative. If you currently have a loan at another institu tion, compare our rates. You may want to think about paying the loan off with a conve nient, low cost loan from your Credit Asso ciation. Credit Check Necessary The annual meeting of the Clinton Credit Association will be held at 5 p.m. on December 8 in the Clinton Mills Personnel Department Conference Room. The meeting is open to all members. Life Insurance Available Most members are not aware of one of the most important services the Clinton Credit Association provides at a low cost — life insurance coverage on loans. If a member dies and has an outstanding loan balance with the Credit Association, a claim can be filed with Cuna Mutual Insurance Society for full payment of the loan(s). To file a death claim, someone in a member’s family must contact the Clinton Credit Association about completing the necessary forms. A notarized copy of the death certificate is required. The loan will then be paid — in full! Loan Disability Insurance Available Every loan applicant gives the Clinton Cre dit Association permission to check his cre dit when a loan application is signed. The Credit Association uses reports from credit reporting agencies to determine the credit worthiness of loan applicants. This is done to protect the Credit Association against losses. Sometimes a loan is denied or cosigners are required because of information con tained in a credit report. The loan applicant may not even be aware of any problems with his credit. Often, people are not aware of the type of information reported by credit bureaus. When the Credit Association obtains a cre dit report on a loan applicant, the report lists the companies which have extended credit to the individual, the current balance, high balance, monthly payment on the account, and type of credit extended (joint, indi vidual, etc.). A credit report will also reflect if collateral has been repossessed, the account has been placed for collection or written off as a bad debt. If you have ever failed to payoff a loan or account, this will be shown in your credit report. An individual’s payment history is rated by each company and this is also shown on the credit report. This rating is based upon whether or not payments are made on a time ly basis. An account where payments are made within 30 days of billing is rated the highest. A special section of the credit report con tains information from public records. Any collection accounts, garnishments, judg ments, or tax liens against the applicant are listed in this section. If an applicant has filed for bankruptcy, this information will also be in the public records section of the report. Also, listed on the report are any com panies which have made inquiries into an applicant’s credit history and the date of inquiry. As you can see from this information, you are continually building the history con tained in your credit report. Each time credit is extended to you, you have the potential to establish yourself as a good credit risk. However, if you fail to make payments on a timely basis, or if you do not satisfy your debt in full, you are damaging your credit history. Businesses make credit decisions based upon the information contained in a credit report. If your report reflects that you either are slow in paying your obligations, or that you do not always pay the amount in full, you will have problems obtaining new credit. Occasionally, a judgment, collection account or bad debt has been paid but the debt still shows as outstanding. By discover ing the reason your application was denied, you may be able to straighten out your credit history. The Credit Association offers insurance which will make your loan payment for you if you become sick. This type of insurance, called “credit disability," is a way to take the worry out of making loan payments when your income has been reduced,” says Mana ger Harvey Dickert. Here's how your credit disability insur ance works: *You sign up for the insurance when you make the loan. *The insurance premium of $.21 per $100 loan balance will be added each month to your loan balance. If you become sick while you still owe on the loan, contact the Credit Association to have a claim form mailed to you. That form must be completed by your doctor. The in surance plan will then make your loan pay ment beginning on the 15th day the doctor says you were sick until you return or until your loan is paid off, as long as you remain under a doctor's care. *Your protection under credit disability insurance terminates on the scheduled maturity date of the loan, or the date the loan is repaid or refinanced or the date the loan is transferred to your cosigners. The coverage may also terminate on the date you become more than 90 days delinquent on your loan. *Benefits are not payable for disabilities that: 1. started prior to the effective date of insurance coverage; 2. result from normal pregnancy; 3. result from an act of war; or 4. start within six months of the effective date of this insurance if caused by any con dition that caused you to see a doctor within six months prior to the effective date of cov erage. A member is eligible for credit disability insurance if he or she is actively at work and he or she has not reached age 70. All Eligible Deposits Insured “The full faith and credit of the United States” stands behind your savings at your Credit Association. You may have taken that for granted but the U.S. Congress didn’t. In fact, the Congress was so concerned that you be confident of your country's support of the federal insurer of credit associations, tt recently reaffirmed that backing publicly. As you may know or may not know, the Federal Government backs three financial insurance institutions. Banks have the FDIC or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corpora tion. Savings and Loans have the FSUC or the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. Credit Unions have the third, the NCUSIF, or the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. It is the strongest of the three federal deposit insurers. Not only are your savings protected up to $ 100,000 by the strongest federal insurance fund in the land, you have "the full faith and credit of the United States” behind your savings insurer as well.