Monday, September 29, 2008

Christian Financial World Sees Silver Lining in Banking Mess | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

image "We have for some time needed something that would grab our attention and say, 'Hey, this can't go on forever. We can't spend more than we're making,'"  Said Dick Towner, director of Willow Creek Community Church's Good Sense financial ministry.

The current state of Wall Street might be a more appropriate application of the infamous Rev. Wright statement: "the chickens have come home to roost."

In light of the shake up financial markets and today's failed bailout bill, not evry financial institution is in trouble. It appears that the one's who are in trouble are the one's who tried to conjure up something from nothing. Christianity Today has some good news in the mess that is today's money market:

Deposits are up 12 percent this year at the Evangelical Christian Credit Union (ECCU). While the stock market was suffering its worst one-day loss since 2001 in September, the Christian Community Credit Union (CCCU) added 200 accounts, swelling its membership to nearly 30,000.

"We don't do residential mortgages or investment vehicles that have underlying mortgages," commented Mark Holbrook, president of ECCU, which manages $3 billion in assets. "We do banks and loans for ministries. The vast majority of churches and ministries are fundamentally sound."

"We've never made any subprime loans," said CCCU CEO John Walling, pointing out it has had no write-offs in 32 years of offering home mortgages. "We have very low losses; our delinquencies are less than one percent."

The problem is centered on the housing sector and at Wall Street's upper echelons, said Rusty Leonard, founder and CEO of Stewardship Partners Investment Counsel of Matthews, North Carolina.

"Christian firms, financial and otherwise, are generally better off because they tend to avoid debt and speculative practices."

Read more: Christianity Today

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