With the national banking system nearing meltdown, Tooele Valley’s two independent credit unions are reassuring customers their money is safe.

HeritageWest Credit Union sent out an e-mail to its members last week explaining that America’s credit unions — including HeritageWest — remain strong, secure and federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration. The e-mail mentioned that with the help of strong balance sheets, responsible lending and a members-first mentality, credit unions are one of the safest places to keep money.

“People may want to withdraw their money and keep it in their home because they think it’s more secure that way,” said HeritageWest marketing manager Brett Valdez. “But if you pull it out, it can’t gain more interest and you have no insurance or protection on it. There’s also the liability that comes with having lots of cash in your home.”

The move to reassure depositors comes amid the greatest financial industry crisis the nation has faced since the Great Depression. Yesterday the House of Representatives rejected the Bush Administration’s $700 billion bailout proposal, sending global stock markets into free fall. The seizure and sale of Washington Mutual — the largest bank failure in U.S. history — last week triggered further panic following the recent bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers and an $85 million federal bailout of insurance giant AIG.

Anne Goins, manager of Grantsville Federal Credit Union, has also been assuring concerned members her institution is secure with $5 million in assets, and that all deposits there are federally insured.

“People should leave their money in their account because the government insures it up to $100,000, but if you have a joint ownership account, the government even insures it up to $200,000,” she said. “We will be sending something out in our newsletter explaining that we’re still in good shape, and how people should stay calm during this time.”

Valdez said one reason HeritageWest is secure is because it didn’t take on risky subprime mortgage loans that have dragged down other lenders.

“We have been feeling the effects of the economy, but we’re not taking losses because of subprime loans,” Valdez said. “We have never issued subprime loans here, and we haven’t changed the criteria for the other loans that we do here.”

Goins said her credit union is also withstanding the storm because of its status as a singular, hometown credit union.

“We’re still doing pretty well because we’re an individual, independent credit union,” she said. “Because we have just one office, we are able to keep a closer eye on things. We also don’t do bigger loans like home mortgages.”

Valdez said he has already had several members call him with questions about what to do during these hard economic times.

“Of course, we don’t tell people exactly what they have to do with their money, but we just want to advise them so they’re on the safe side,” he said. “We want to guide our members and help them reach their goals and dreams. Therefore, we reassure them that their money is insured while it’s in the bank, and they need to keep it there and not be worried about it.”

Goins added that it’s also good to have a cash rainy-day fund.

“It’s a good idea to have a little cash in your home in case of an emergency, such as a power outage, fire, earthquake or flood,” she said. “However, for general savings, it’s good to leave the majority of your money here.”

Doug Radunich: dougrad@tooeletranscript.com