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People's Trust Federal Credit Union is one of the largest credit unions in Houston. Formerly the Shell Employees Federal Credit Union, we have been proudly serving our members for over 70 years

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News Release – July 16, 2008

A Message About the Current Bank Troubles

from People’s Trust President/CEO – Angela McCathran

First of all, we are not a bank. As a financial cooperative, we have no shareholders, just member owners. It is this basic structure that ensures that we are driven and accountable to our members and their needs, and not the financial gains of shareholders. For more than 70 years, People’s Trust, formerly Shell Employees Federal Credit Union, has maintained solid lending policies, including those for home mortgages.

While we believe that all of our members, of every walk of life, should have the opportunity for home ownership, we also believe that it should be done responsibly. People’s Trust has never engaged in “no-documentation loans” or speculative home loans. As of June 30, 2008, People’s Trust’s mortgage loan portfolio is $ 82,858,865. That is only 36% of our total loan portfolio. Additionally, in the more than 15 years that People’s Trust has offered mortgage loans, only 8 have foreclosed and all had adequate loan to value to result in virtually no loss to your credit union. As for our current portfolio, only 1 loan is in default and again there is sufficient value which will minimize losses, if any, to your credit union. Additionally, People’s Trust does not have any equity investments in mortgage banks, mortgage servicers, or mortgage brokers. As a credit union, we are not permitted to hold equity investments in any companies. Our financial statements will show zero realized loss in market value of investments.

I would also like to address the topic of insured deposits. As a financial cooperative, People’s Trust is not protected by the FDIC; instead it is federally insured by the NCUA, through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government. Like the FDIC, the NCUSIF provides insurance for accounts up to $100,000. To learn more about the NCUSIF, we encourage you to visit the NCUA’s online share insurance estimator and download the informative NCUA insurance brochure.

In closing, I’d like to assure you that your credit union is financially stronger than ever. Our Net Worth or Capital Ratio is 10.81%, which is much stronger than the minimum requirement of 7% to be a Well Capitalized Credit Union. Banks are required to have a minimum 6% Capital Ratio to be considered well capitalized. We would also like to encourage you and invite you to make us your primary financial institution; your direct deposits and loans are carefully managed, since we are member-owners too. We realize that today’s financial world may also be affecting your retirement assets, which is why I’d like to recommend you visit with our Signal Hill representatives. Signal Hill is a division of People’s Trust, and follows the same core values. While having access to alternative investments, their goal is to manage the financial well-being of the clients whose assets they manage.

We hope that we can help you navigate these challenging economic times. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our management team by emailing us at
executivemanagement@peoplestrustfcu.org.

Sincerely,

Angela McCathran