Ever since credit unions and banks have been created, people have been torn between them. There are those that claim the best credit unions in Oregon are far better than banks Oregon, and of course there are those that clam the opposite. Both financial institutions have their pros and cons, with clients from both claiming that theirs is better than the other. But how can anybody know which one is better?

Which Are the Best Credit Unions in Oregon?

When talking about the best credit unions in Oregon , one must understand what criteria is there in order to make this assumption. Credit unions are a more recent creation than banks, but have managed to attract a lot of people looking for something else that they couldn’t find with a bank. One way to look at things is by the number of members a credit union has. Most of them, although beginning in small communities, have come to amass thousands of members. This can only mean that their services are appealing to a large number of people and that they are a trustworthy financial institution.

Another way you can gauge how good a credit union is, is by looking at the value of their assets. Credit unions work kind of like clubs, with members opening accounts and paying a nominal fee in order to join. The more members a credit union has, the more assets it has. The more assets it has, the more money it can loan to other members and so on and so forth. Although they are non-profit organizations, some credit unions can have billions of dollars-worth of assets.

One of the easiest ways of telling if a credit union is one of the best credit unions in Oregon is by looking when it was founded. As in any field, the longer an institution has been around the better. A long history means that the community it was built around trusts its services and keeps on doing business with it. Although credit unions aren’t as big as banks, or have as many services to offer, they have their own crowd that trusts them and prefers to do business with them.

Which Are the Best Banks Oregon?

You can’t really use the same criteria for banks as you do for credit unions in order to determine which one is the best. Firstly, banks have been around for centuries. Granted, the names and services have changed, but the concepts have remained the same: help people save money through accounts and give out loans when they need them. Another aspect that separates them from credit unions is that banks are part of bigger organizations. Most  banks Oregon  are now part of greater organizations, some of them even having multinational investors.

Comparing banks Oregon to credit unions in terms of size is kind of like comparing watermelons to lemons. The bigger the corporation that owns the bank, the more branches it has and the more employees it has. This means that, although due to this kind of expansion clients services might suffer, banks are more accessible and can be more present in day to day lives.

You can’t really call bank clients members, although some banks have all sorts of fidelity clubs in order to retain new customers. If you want to compare them that way, banks are the winners by far. Their services enable people from anywhere in the world to have access to their financial products, sometimes without leaving the comfort of their homes.

By doing some simple math, banks come out on top almost always, in terms of number of clients, accessibility and service range. There is almost no competition at all. Credit unions however do still have an advantage in regards of client services and in some cases public relations. In recent years, due to the development of their services, credit unions have come to give banks a run for their money, but overall banks are still titans of the financial market.

The best thing anybody interested in making a comparison can do is go by personal experience. Do your research and try to find whatever institution and service best suites you and your needs, regardless of what others might say. A smart decision can be taken only after knowing all the facts. In conclusion the best bank or credit union is the one that helps you when you need it to.