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March 4, 2014 – NAFCU Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt, quoted in a Bankrate.com report showing a sharp decline in free checking at banks, said credit unions feel strongly about offering free checking accounts as a member service.

Hunt commented on Bankrate.com's 2014 Credit Union Checking Survey, which found that 72 percent of the 50 largest credit unions offer free checking accounts. The number is down slightly from 78 percent in 2010. Seventy-six percent of banks offered free checking in 2009, but that decreased to 38 percent by 2013.

"Credit unions and credit union members really value free checking as a service," Hunt told Bankrate.com. "A lot of credit unions feel very strongly about maintaining that service even with tightening margins because it's something that's core to being a credit union."

The survey also found that other fees at credit unions have remained "relatively steady" since last year.