CUNEB was organized and funded by Edward Filene, managed by Roy Bergengren, and was largely responsible for the proliferation of credit unions in the United States.
[1] Inspired by cooperative banks in India, American businessman Edward Filene began advocating for credit union legislation in Massachusetts in 1908.
[2] In June 1924, the Extension Bureau began publishing The Bridge, a precursor to Credit Union Magazine of which Bergengren was the editor.
Filene prevailed in this debate, maintaining that a national law should be based on a sound understanding of the diverse circumstances of people across America—from shrimp fishermen in Louisiana, to factory workers in Massachusetts or farmers in the mid-West.
[3] Second, as the Great Depression set in the Reconstruction Finance Corporation under President Hoover sought to stimulate the economy with soft loans targeted to banks, railways and large companies.
"[4] With the work of the Bureau essentially completed, a national meeting of credit union leaders was called at Estes Park, Colorado.