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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 J U LY 2 7 , 2 0 1 5 "I quickly realized I wasn't cut out for that kind of job. It was a cold-call position to drum up business," he says. "I don't have that 'Slick Willie' salesmanship at all." His fi rst job out of college was at Seafax, which creates credit reports for the food industry. e company also collects payables for the meat, seafood and poultry industry. He left after one year, but says it was a great way to put things he learned in college to work, such as communication skills. He was living in Portland, but found he was return- ing to e County frequently. "I missed my family and friends," he says. So he moved home and got the job with Katahdin Trust. Ellsworth credits his business acumen to his mother, who is executive director of the Aroostook County Action Program, a nonprofi t focused on family services, energy and housing, employment and training as well as community services. She for- merly managed a lab at the hospital in Presque Isle. His father was a potato farmer until Ellsworth was about seven, though his house wasn't on the farm. "So I was exposed to business and like it very much," he says. Membership rising Maine has 48 federally chartered and 12 state chartered credit unions with total assets topping $6.75 billion and 655,716 members, according to a recent report by the Westbrook-based Maine Credit Union League. at translates into nearly one in two Mainers belonging to a credit union, making Maine the fi fth-strongest credit union state in the nation, the league notes. Membership has risen by 55,000 since 2008. Comparatively, at the close of 2014, the state Bureau of Financial Institutions notes on its website that it regulates 42 fi nancial institutions in the state: 12 credit unions, one savings and loan, four com- mercial banks, 14 savings banks and 11 limited-pur- pose banks. Combined assets of the 42 institutions as of June 30, 2014 totaled $17.3 billion. Additionally, Maine credit unions have a com- bined 1,900 full-time and 350 part-time employ- ees and about 1,000 unpaid volunteers who serve on boards and committees. In total, the 60 credit unions have more than $5.6 billion in savings and $4.4 billion in outstanding loans. ere are 198 total credit union branches in Maine, and 238 no-fee ATM locations, which the league notes is the larg- est no-fee ATM network in Maine. Credit union members have access to the Maine Credit Union Shared Branch Network, so they can use 171 branches, the largest fi nancial institution branch network in Maine, according to the league. ere are 5,500 shared branches throughout the United States to compose the third-largest fi nancial services branch network in the country. Similar, but different Given his druthers, Ellsworth prefers working for a credit union. He says he's found more of a coopera- tive spirit among credit unions to collaborate and share information on policies and other issues. " ere's a cooperative spirit because credit unions are owned by every one of their members. Few banks are member-owned. Most are stockholder-owned," he says. He likens credit unions to farmers' cooperatives. ere are two types of credit unions based on population, industry and/or location. Select employee group, or SEG, credit unions are affi liated with a com- pany, group or union like fi remen or a university. e other type, a community-based credit union, is based on a fi eld of membership, meaning members must live, work or worship within a certain geographic location. He acknowledges the tension between banks and credit unions due to the nonprofi t status of credit unions. Because they are nonprofi ts, credit unions often off er better rates on deposits and loans than banks. Maine credit unions give members benefi ts of $38 million annually related to better loan and savings rates and lower and fewer fees, according to an indepen- dent study in 2012 by former state economist Chuck Lawton, who now is chief economist with Planning Decisions Inc., a consulting and research company with offi ces in Portland and elsewhere in the state. Banks and credit unions both take in deposits and issue loans, but credit unions don't pay corpo- rate income tax as banks do. Like banks, they are federally insured, but by the National Credit Union Administration for up to at least $250,000. Banks are insured for the same amount by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Banking organizations have argued that credit unions shouldn't be allowed to keep their tax- exempt status because they have become very large. Nationwide, the tax-exempt status translates into $9.45 billion in potential federal tax revenues from 2014 to 2018, according to Offi ce of Management and Budget estimates. But credit union organizations have coun- tered that they pass their profi ts on to account holders, whereas most banks must answer to shareholders. He says that while there have been national eff orts to change the status of credit unions, he expects them to stay the way they are for now. He notes that non- profi ts in general are coming under criticism for their non-tax status, but if they suddenly had to pay taxes, if could seriously aff ect their survival. He also noted that while the credit unions don't pay taxes on net income, they do pay real estate taxes, and their employees pay income taxes. "Banks will say if a credit union walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it should be taxed like a duck. If they're going to compete with us and off er checking accounts, loans and all the same services we're off ering, they should be taxed like us," Ellsworth says. "On the surface they appear the same, but the structure of own- ership is diff erent. at's why we're treated diff erently. Our profi ts don't belong to us. ey belong to all of our members, therefore it's their money and we don't get taxed on it because it's their profi t, not ours." L V, Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached a t @ . a n d @ LV 207-358-7900 | www.milkstreetcapital.biz | 84 Middle Street, Portland Milk Street Capital llc Open 4:30AM tO 1AM Or lAter. Drive 100 yards past baggage claim, look for our green sign. www.parknjetportland.com 747-5650 get your oil changed while yOu're AwAy Valet parking AirpOrt per day $10 Our profits don't belong to us. Our profits don't belong to us. Our profits don't belong to us. Our profits don't belong to us. Our profits don't belong to us. Our profits don't belong to us. Our profits don't belong to us. Our profits don't belong to us. Our profits don't belong to us. Our profits don't belong to us. Our profits don't belong to us. Our profits don't belong to us. Our profits don't belong to us. Our profits don't belong to us. They belong to all of our members, They belong to all of our members, They belong to all of our members, They belong to all of our members, They belong to all of our members, They belong to all of our members, They belong to all of our members, They belong to all of our members, They belong to all of our members, They belong to all of our members, They belong to all of our members, They belong to all of our members, They belong to all of our members, therefore it's their money and we don't get taxed on it because it's their profit, not ours. — Ryan Ellsworth, president/CEO

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