Banks are concerned that there's a new breed of credit union evolving that's not the credit union of old. As long as it's fair competition and public policy hasn't skewed the marketplace, bankers are happy to compete with anyone.

It smacks of financial eavesdropping. It's not our role -- we're a service provider to small businesses. This proposal would put the credit card banks in a very strange position.

There's a threshold, and once you cross it, you're really not a credit union in the true sense of the word. After you've grown to be about a billion dollars or $5 billion, and you're offering everything from life insurance to stock brokerage to the full range of financial products ---- perhaps some community banks in the market don't even offer ---- it seems the tax exemption they enjoy is a bit misplaced.

I think some of the prevention has to do with oversight and reports. The bank can't police the individual transactions. That's a business issue.

Before the arrival of the Credit Union, people who were from the poor background or a working class background couldn't borrow from banks.

It is often that a cow does not take after its breed.