Bankrate Releases First Ever Credit Union Checking Study

NEW YORK, May 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Analysts have speculated that free checking may disappear from many national banks.  However, Bankrate, Inc.'s first annual 2010 Credit Union Study shows that free checking accounts are alive and well at many of the nation's top credit unions.  The study also takes a look at fees, account balance minimums, and the cost of ATM usage at the 50 largest credit unions in the country.  The results of the study can be found here: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/checking/want-free-checking-check-out-credit-unions-1.aspx/  

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Among the findings:

• Of the 50 largest credit unions in the country, free checking accounts were available at 39 of them;
• Forty-one of the credit unions have no balance requirement or monthly fee on their checking accounts;
• Among the nine credit unions that charge monthly service fees, the highest fee was $10 while the lowest was $1;
• Almost all of the credit unions, 47 out of 50, allow unlimited monthly transactions;
• Just over half of the credit unions surveyed, 27 out of 50, do not require a minimum opening balance on their free checking accounts;
• Of those requiring a minimum balance for free checking, the average minimum opening balance required for a non-interest account is $16;
• In keeping with current checking trends, 19 of the credit unions surveyed have interest-bearing checking accounts.

"With free checking accounts becoming less prevalent in national banks, credit unions can be an invaluable resource for the average consumer," said Greg McBride, CFA, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com. "Credit unions offer many of the same services as most large banks.  They just happen to be not-for-profit organizations that are owned by and in operation for the benefit of their members."

Bankrate surveyed the 50 largest credit unions across the country for this study.  

About Bankrate, Inc.

The Bankrate network of companies includes Bankrate.com, Interest.com, Mortgage-calc.com, Nationwide Card Services, Savingforcollege.com, Fee Disclosure, InsureMe CreditCardGuide.com and Bankaholic. Each of these businesses helps consumers to make informed decisions about their personal finance matters. The company's flagship brand, Bankrate.com is a destination site of personal finance channels, including banking, investing, taxes, debt management and college finance. Bankrate.com is the leading aggregator of rates and other information on more than 300 financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used auto loans, money market accounts and CDs, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees. Bankrate.com reviews more than 4,800 financial institutions in 575 markets in 50 states. In 2008, Bankrate.com had nearly 72 million unique visitors. Bankrate.com provides financial applications and information to a network of more than 75 partners, including Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), America Online (NYSE: AOL), The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times (NYSE: NYT). Bankrate.com's information is also distributed through more than 500 newspapers. Bankrate, Inc. was acquired by Apax Partners, one of the world's leading private equity investment group, in September 2009. Apax operates across the United States, Europe and Asia and has more than 30 years of investing experience. For more information on Apax, visit: www.Apax.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: The information contained in this release is available for print or broadcast with attribution to Bankrate.com

SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.