Dear credit union customers: Silver State CU is safe, and it’s all the R-J’s fault

There’s nothing like those holiday letters to brighten your day.

You know the kind: They’re just jammed with the latest news of births, deaths, marriages, divorces and so on. If little Sally cut her first tooth or little Tommy won a blue ribbon at the Cub Scout fair, you’re sure to learn all about it in one of those holiday letters.

Not to be outdone this time of year, just this week Silver State Schools Credit Union President and CEO Dave Rhamy sent a holiday letter of a kind to thousands of his customers.

It reads in part,

“I’d like to address some of the information that has been circulating recently in the local press about the status of Silver State Schools Credit Union …

“Unfortunately, these are difficult economic times, especially here in Nevada. Some media has printed articles without all of the facts. Much of what you have read is information that has been misinterpreted and, in some cases, is not true at all. The Review-Journal articles have been more opinion than fact. Our Credit Union is going through a challenging time, just like most other financial institutions. However, our Credit Union has nearly $54,000,000 in savings reserve (Capital.) This means that we could endure two more years of losses similar to those we’ve experienced in 2009, although we won’t likely need to because your (and our) financial condition the past few months is much more positive than the first 9 months of the year.

“In addition, we have helped hundreds of members, many of them teachers, save their homes by working with them, rather than foreclosing. We are a Credit Union providing service to all of our member-owners, to assist in their financial well-being. We are supported by the state (Financial Institution Division) and our insurer (ASI) and we have plans in place to help us through this tough time. Our plans include additional expense control, implementing ways to improve our revenue and generate additional capital.”