Feminist credit unions

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Feminist federal credit unions (FFCUs) are credit unions founded by feminists to address discriminatory practices in banking and loaning.^[1] In the United States, feminist credit unions rose to prominence during the 1970s.^[2] The first feminist credit union, which is also the oldest women's financial organization, was founded in Detroit, Michigan on August 26, 1973, which is the anniversary of Women's Suffrage.^[3] The Detroit FFCU was co-founded by Valerie Angers and Joanna Parrent, who were feminists that sought to create a service for women and controlled by women.^[3] The main goal of the FFCU was to offer freedom in banking and loan institutions from discrimination based on sex, marital status, or credit rating of the women's husband or father.^[3] Only women reviewed a woman's loan application, and these loans were used for a variety of things such as cars, homes, divorces, abortions, and funding for movements towards self-fulfillment.^[3] Women also used their loans to help with other feminist movements. For example, In 1976, Carol Seajay and Paula Wallace received a loan from the San Francisco Feminist Federal Credit Union to start a feminist bookstore called Old Wives Tales.^[4][5] The FFCUs also focused on teaching financial literacy to women who never were allowed to manage money before.^[6]

Women, for decades, faced discriminatory practices in the loan and credit industry. FFCUs rose due to a shift in conceptions of women's rights.^[7] In 1974, Congress passed the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), which made it illegal to for banks and lenders to discriminate based on sex or marital status.^[7] Despite this, women were still considered to be second-class financial citizens, and combated their economic standing by turning to women-only or women-centered financial institutions.^[7] Prior to 1848, married women were not allowed to own any real estate; the women's husband owned any property that was hers. In addition to this, women who were married could also not acquire new property.^[8] It was during the 1960s when women were first allowed to open their own bank accounts.^[8] However, it was not until 1974 that it became illegal to require women to take out loans with a male co-signer, and women often found themselves with larger interest rates and higher required down payments prior to this.^[8]

The Feminist Economic Network was founded in 1975 as an alliance of several feminist credit unions in the United States.^[9] The purpose of its formation was to enhance the inner-leading capacities of the FFCUs and to encourage new credit unions to form.^[9]