VSECU Awarded Community Credit Union of the Year

The National Credit Union Association recently named four credit unions as recipients of the prestigious Community Credit Union of the Year award.  VSECU, a credit union for everybody in Vermont, was one of the four recognized award recipients from 2,200 credit unions serving communities nationwide.

Demonstrating a positive community impact was an important criterion to be selected as an award recipient. As part of our submission for award consideration, our proud history of offering IOLTA accounts and our place on the VBF Honor Roll as a Gold Level Leadership Institution, was noted as a value-added contribution to positively supporting Vermont communities.

VSECU submitted the following illustration of how our support of the Vermont Bar Foundation’s IOLTA program benefits Vermonters:

Providing Civil Legal Aid to Low-Income Vermonters

VSECU helps support civil legal aid to low-income Vermonters by supporting the Vermont Bar Foundation as a participant in Vermont’s IOLTA (Interest on Lawyer’s Trust Accounts) program.  VSECU pays a premium on IOLTA deposit accounts and earned interest is used to help pay for legal services that low-income individuals cannot afford to pay themselves.

Practicing Vermont attorneys are required to open an IOLTA account with a local financial institution.   The account is specially designated by a financial institution as an interest bearing account where client funds are held for future use such as, the purchase of a home, a settlement payout, to pay a judgment, hold as escrow or other reasons.

The purpose of paying the high yield rate on these deposits is to help support access to justice in Vermont by obtaining and distributing funds to programs that provide legal services to disadvantaged Vermonters or that educate the general public about the courts and legal matters.

VSECU currently pays a premium yield of 2.02% on 60 IOLTA accounts held at VSECU.  In 2013 VSECU paid over $80,000 in interest on IOLTA accounts to help fund legal services to low-income Vermonters and other at-risk populations.  We look forward to carrying on this tradition with nearly $5 million currently on deposit in these accounts.