How did the credit union movement expand in the United States?
A. Edward A. Filene, the famous Boston merchant, was on a world tour in 1909 and witnessed credit unions in action…first in India and later in Europe. When he returned home and learned that there was such an organization in New Hampshire, he began a one-man campaign to extend the idea in this country. He is reported to have used more than a million dollars of his personal funds for this purpose. He succeeded in getting state laws giving credit unions legal status, and in 1934 he saw his dream come true when the United States Congress enacted a federal credit union law. Since then the movement has grown tremendously.
