regional credit union

Sound Credit Union

A Puget Sound member-owned credit union offering banking, lending, and business services through branches and digital channels. Sound Credit Union rates above banks because cooperative ownership restrains extraction, but it is a conventional regional credit union rather than a deeply mission-locked alternative institution.

Why this matters: Sound helps fill the Washington consumer-choice map next to BECU, SeattleCU, WSECU, and the large national credit unions.

Letter grade B Qualified Medium confidence (AI) Rubric gcd-rubric-v1 Last reviewed May 12, 2026

Final Score 45* B - Qualified

BQUALIFIED45 pts

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.

Base Material47

Bonus+1

Cap66No structure cap

After Cap48

Penalties-3

!Not Verified

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Evaluation Overview

B - Qualified

The score turns mainly on Ownership, with the largest penalty coming from Accountability Opacity.

Strengths

Ownership7/10
Extraction7/10
Governance6/10

Penalties

Accountability Opacity-2
Surveillance Capture-1

Evidence state

ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)
ThoroughnessDeveloped (AI)
Linked claims9
Direct axis claims9
Coverage9/12

Scoring Axes

Axis	Score	Why this score
Ownership ? Control rights: shareholder-dominated at 0, worker cooperative control at 10.	7 / 10	Sound Credit Union publicly presents itself as a member-owned or member-powered not-for-profit credit union rather than a shareholder-owned bank. Sound Credit Union publicly presents itself as a member-owned or member-powered not-for-profit credit union rather than a shareholder-owned bank. This puts Sound Credit Union toward the stronger end of Ownership: the cited structure or conduct gives affected members, customers, or communities more real protection than ordinary investor-owned banking. The value stops short of the top boundary where the record still depends on conventional management, limited member participation, or ordinary financial-sector opacity. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Financial-services expansion pass calibrated against existing credit unions, community-development banks, megabanks, and fintech entries. Linked evidence Sound Credit Union publicly presents itself as a member-owned or member-powered not-for-profit credit union rather than a shareholder-owned bank. [1] context Sound Credit Union operates in the credit-union model, where members are the ownership constituency and board governance is formally tied to member control rather than outside equity. [2] context Sound Credit Union describes a not-for-profit cooperative model that returns value through member service, rates, community benefit, or reinvestment rather than investor dividends. [3] context Sound Credit Union offers ordinary consumer banking and lending services as a member-focused alternative to investor-owned banks. [4] context Sound Credit Union offers practical deposit, lending, card, or digital-banking products that meet ordinary household financial needs without making speculative trading or store-card debt the core product. [5] context Sound Credit Union has enough scale to provide useful consumer banking access while remaining formally organized as a cooperative financial institution. [6]
Governance ? Binding decision authority: centralized control at 0, democratic stakeholder control at 10.	6 / 10	Sound Credit Union operates in the credit-union model, where members are the ownership constituency and board governance is formally tied to member control rather than outside equity. Sound Credit Union operates in the credit-union model, where members are the ownership constituency and board governance is formally tied to member control rather than outside equity. This keeps Sound Credit Union in the middle of Governance: the institution provides useful financial services or some accountability, but the cited record does not lock power away from executives, shareholders, or scale-driven administration. It belongs below credit unions and mission banks where member ownership, community-development structure, or public-benefit constraints are more direct. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Financial-services expansion pass calibrated against existing credit unions, community-development banks, megabanks, and fintech entries. Linked evidence context Sound Credit Union publicly presents itself as a member-owned or member-powered not-for-profit credit union rather than a shareholder-owned bank. [1] Sound Credit Union operates in the credit-union model, where members are the ownership constituency and board governance is formally tied to member control rather than outside equity. [2] context Sound Credit Union describes a not-for-profit cooperative model that returns value through member service, rates, community benefit, or reinvestment rather than investor dividends. [3] context Sound Credit Union offers ordinary consumer banking and lending services as a member-focused alternative to investor-owned banks. [4] context Sound Credit Union offers practical deposit, lending, card, or digital-banking products that meet ordinary household financial needs without making speculative trading or store-card debt the core product. [5] context Sound Credit Union has enough scale to provide useful consumer banking access while remaining formally organized as a cooperative financial institution. [6]
Extraction ? Surplus allocation, wage share, CEO pay ratio, margins, and structured extraction judgment.	7 / 10	Sound Credit Union describes a not-for-profit cooperative model that returns value through member service, rates, community benefit, or reinvestment rather than investor dividends. Sound Credit Union describes a not-for-profit cooperative model that returns value through member service, rates, community benefit, or reinvestment rather than investor dividends. This puts Sound Credit Union toward the stronger end of Extraction: the cited structure or conduct gives affected members, customers, or communities more real protection than ordinary investor-owned banking. The value stops short of the top boundary where the record still depends on conventional management, limited member participation, or ordinary financial-sector opacity. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Financial-services expansion pass calibrated against existing credit unions, community-development banks, megabanks, and fintech entries. Linked evidence context Sound Credit Union publicly presents itself as a member-owned or member-powered not-for-profit credit union rather than a shareholder-owned bank. [1] context Sound Credit Union operates in the credit-union model, where members are the ownership constituency and board governance is formally tied to member control rather than outside equity. [2] Sound Credit Union describes a not-for-profit cooperative model that returns value through member service, rates, community benefit, or reinvestment rather than investor dividends. [3] context Sound Credit Union offers ordinary consumer banking and lending services as a member-focused alternative to investor-owned banks. [4] context Sound Credit Union offers practical deposit, lending, card, or digital-banking products that meet ordinary household financial needs without making speculative trading or store-card debt the core product. [5] context Sound Credit Union has enough scale to provide useful consumer banking access while remaining formally organized as a cooperative financial institution. [6]
Labor Sovereignty ? Worker power: coercive conditions at 0, co-determination or ownership at 7. Employee dissatisfaction matters only when source-backed evidence shows concrete limits on worker agency, such as coercive scheduling, retaliation, wage theft, harassment, unsafe conditions, suppression of worker voice, or extreme turnover.	4 / 7	The linked evidence gives a bounded factual basis for this placement. The linked evidence gives a bounded factual basis for this placement. This keeps Sound Credit Union in the middle of Labor Sovereignty: the institution provides useful financial services or some accountability, but the cited record does not lock power away from executives, shareholders, or scale-driven administration. It belongs below credit unions and mission banks where member ownership, community-development structure, or public-benefit constraints are more direct. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Financial-services expansion pass calibrated against existing credit unions, community-development banks, megabanks, and fintech entries. Linked evidence context Sound Credit Union publicly presents itself as a member-owned or member-powered not-for-profit credit union rather than a shareholder-owned bank. [1] context Sound Credit Union operates in the credit-union model, where members are the ownership constituency and board governance is formally tied to member control rather than outside equity. [2] context Sound Credit Union describes a not-for-profit cooperative model that returns value through member service, rates, community benefit, or reinvestment rather than investor dividends. [3] context Sound Credit Union offers ordinary consumer banking and lending services as a member-focused alternative to investor-owned banks. [4] context Sound Credit Union offers practical deposit, lending, card, or digital-banking products that meet ordinary household financial needs without making speculative trading or store-card debt the core product. [5] context Sound Credit Union has enough scale to provide useful consumer banking access while remaining formally organized as a cooperative financial institution. [6]
Solidarity with the Unemployed ? Treatment of exits and nonworkers, including severance, redeployment, and non-competes.	4 / 7	The linked evidence gives a bounded factual basis for this placement. The linked evidence gives a bounded factual basis for this placement. This keeps Sound Credit Union in the middle of Solidarity with the Unemployed: the institution provides useful financial services or some accountability, but the cited record does not lock power away from executives, shareholders, or scale-driven administration. It belongs below credit unions and mission banks where member ownership, community-development structure, or public-benefit constraints are more direct. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Financial-services expansion pass calibrated against existing credit unions, community-development banks, megabanks, and fintech entries. Linked evidence context Sound Credit Union publicly presents itself as a member-owned or member-powered not-for-profit credit union rather than a shareholder-owned bank. [1] context Sound Credit Union operates in the credit-union model, where members are the ownership constituency and board governance is formally tied to member control rather than outside equity. [2] context Sound Credit Union describes a not-for-profit cooperative model that returns value through member service, rates, community benefit, or reinvestment rather than investor dividends. [3] context Sound Credit Union offers ordinary consumer banking and lending services as a member-focused alternative to investor-owned banks. [4] context Sound Credit Union offers practical deposit, lending, card, or digital-banking products that meet ordinary household financial needs without making speculative trading or store-card debt the core product. [5] context Sound Credit Union has enough scale to provide useful consumer banking access while remaining formally organized as a cooperative financial institution. [6]
Loss-Bearing Fidelity ? Willingness to absorb costs to preserve values, workers, users, and public obligations.	5 / 7	The linked evidence gives a bounded factual basis for this placement. The linked evidence gives a bounded factual basis for this placement. This keeps Sound Credit Union in the middle of Loss-Bearing Fidelity: the institution provides useful financial services or some accountability, but the cited record does not lock power away from executives, shareholders, or scale-driven administration. It belongs below credit unions and mission banks where member ownership, community-development structure, or public-benefit constraints are more direct. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Financial-services expansion pass calibrated against existing credit unions, community-development banks, megabanks, and fintech entries. Linked evidence context Sound Credit Union publicly presents itself as a member-owned or member-powered not-for-profit credit union rather than a shareholder-owned bank. [1] context Sound Credit Union operates in the credit-union model, where members are the ownership constituency and board governance is formally tied to member control rather than outside equity. [2] context Sound Credit Union describes a not-for-profit cooperative model that returns value through member service, rates, community benefit, or reinvestment rather than investor dividends. [3] context Sound Credit Union offers ordinary consumer banking and lending services as a member-focused alternative to investor-owned banks. [4] context Sound Credit Union offers practical deposit, lending, card, or digital-banking products that meet ordinary household financial needs without making speculative trading or store-card debt the core product. [5] context Sound Credit Union has enough scale to provide useful consumer banking access while remaining formally organized as a cooperative financial institution. [6]
Market Conduct ? Pricing fairness, switching costs, lock-in, and rent extraction.	5 / 5	Sound Credit Union offers ordinary consumer banking and lending services as a member-focused alternative to investor-owned banks. Sound Credit Union offers ordinary consumer banking and lending services as a member-focused alternative to investor-owned banks. This puts Sound Credit Union toward the stronger end of Market Conduct: the cited structure or conduct gives affected members, customers, or communities more real protection than ordinary investor-owned banking. The value stops short of the top boundary where the record still depends on conventional management, limited member participation, or ordinary financial-sector opacity. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Financial-services expansion pass calibrated against existing credit unions, community-development banks, megabanks, and fintech entries. Linked evidence context Sound Credit Union publicly presents itself as a member-owned or member-powered not-for-profit credit union rather than a shareholder-owned bank. [1] context Sound Credit Union operates in the credit-union model, where members are the ownership constituency and board governance is formally tied to member control rather than outside equity. [2] context Sound Credit Union describes a not-for-profit cooperative model that returns value through member service, rates, community benefit, or reinvestment rather than investor dividends. [3] Sound Credit Union offers ordinary consumer banking and lending services as a member-focused alternative to investor-owned banks. [4] context Sound Credit Union offers practical deposit, lending, card, or digital-banking products that meet ordinary household financial needs without making speculative trading or store-card debt the core product. [5] context Sound Credit Union has enough scale to provide useful consumer banking access while remaining formally organized as a cooperative financial institution. [6]
Product Integrity ? Preservation of quality rather than degradation for monetization.	5 / 5	Sound Credit Union offers practical deposit, lending, card, or digital-banking products that meet ordinary household financial needs without making speculative trading or store-card debt the core product. Sound Credit Union offers practical deposit, lending, card, or digital-banking products that meet ordinary household financial needs without making speculative trading or store-card debt the core product. This puts Sound Credit Union toward the stronger end of Product Integrity: the cited structure or conduct gives affected members, customers, or communities more real protection than ordinary investor-owned banking. The value stops short of the top boundary where the record still depends on conventional management, limited member participation, or ordinary financial-sector opacity. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Financial-services expansion pass calibrated against existing credit unions, community-development banks, megabanks, and fintech entries. Linked evidence context Sound Credit Union publicly presents itself as a member-owned or member-powered not-for-profit credit union rather than a shareholder-owned bank. [1] context Sound Credit Union operates in the credit-union model, where members are the ownership constituency and board governance is formally tied to member control rather than outside equity. [2] context Sound Credit Union describes a not-for-profit cooperative model that returns value through member service, rates, community benefit, or reinvestment rather than investor dividends. [3] context Sound Credit Union offers ordinary consumer banking and lending services as a member-focused alternative to investor-owned banks. [4] Sound Credit Union offers practical deposit, lending, card, or digital-banking products that meet ordinary household financial needs without making speculative trading or store-card debt the core product. [5] context Sound Credit Union has enough scale to provide useful consumer banking access while remaining formally organized as a cooperative financial institution. [6]
Scale Integrity ? Whether growth improves or degrades fairness and accountability.	4 / 5	Sound Credit Union has enough scale to provide useful consumer banking access while remaining formally organized as a cooperative financial institution. Sound Credit Union has enough scale to provide useful consumer banking access while remaining formally organized as a cooperative financial institution. This puts Sound Credit Union toward the stronger end of Scale Integrity: the cited structure or conduct gives affected members, customers, or communities more real protection than ordinary investor-owned banking. The value stops short of the top boundary where the record still depends on conventional management, limited member participation, or ordinary financial-sector opacity. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Financial-services expansion pass calibrated against existing credit unions, community-development banks, megabanks, and fintech entries. Linked evidence context Sound Credit Union publicly presents itself as a member-owned or member-powered not-for-profit credit union rather than a shareholder-owned bank. [1] context Sound Credit Union operates in the credit-union model, where members are the ownership constituency and board governance is formally tied to member control rather than outside equity. [2] context Sound Credit Union describes a not-for-profit cooperative model that returns value through member service, rates, community benefit, or reinvestment rather than investor dividends. [3] context Sound Credit Union offers ordinary consumer banking and lending services as a member-focused alternative to investor-owned banks. [4] context Sound Credit Union offers practical deposit, lending, card, or digital-banking products that meet ordinary household financial needs without making speculative trading or store-card debt the core product. [5] Sound Credit Union has enough scale to provide useful consumer banking access while remaining formally organized as a cooperative financial institution. [6]

Penalties

Penalty	Applied	Why this penalty
Accountability Opacity ? Material opacity, reputation laundering, or hidden accountability structures that prevent public accountability. Range: -2 to 0.	-2	Sound Credit Union's public materials establish cooperative status but do not make practical member governance power as legible as the strongest worker or community-controlled institutions. Sound Credit Union's public materials establish cooperative status but do not make practical member governance power as legible as the strongest worker or community-controlled institutions. That warrants a Accountability Opacity penalty because the cited conduct shifts costs, opacity, surveillance, policy power, or foreseeable harm onto people who cannot govern the institution. The magnitude is limited where the evidence is sector-conventional or procedural rather than direct violence or catastrophic harm. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Financial-services expansion pass calibrated against existing credit unions, community-development banks, megabanks, and fintech entries. Linked evidence Sound Credit Union's public materials establish cooperative status but do not make practical member governance power as legible as the strongest worker or community-controlled institutions. [8]
Surveillance Capture ? Invasive surveillance, unreasonably non-optional tracking, facial recognition, biometric identification, or AI behavior scanning of customers, workers, bystanders, or the public. Range: -5 to 0.	-1	Sound Credit Union provides digital financial services that necessarily involve account-data processing, fraud monitoring, and transaction surveillance, even without evidence of unusual biometric or AI behavior scanning. Sound Credit Union provides digital financial services that necessarily involve account-data processing, fraud monitoring, and transaction surveillance, even without evidence of unusual biometric or AI behavior scanning. That warrants a Surveillance Capture penalty because the cited conduct shifts costs, opacity, surveillance, policy power, or foreseeable harm onto people who cannot govern the institution. The magnitude is limited where the evidence is sector-conventional or procedural rather than direct violence or catastrophic harm. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Financial-services expansion pass calibrated against existing credit unions, community-development banks, megabanks, and fintech entries. Linked evidence Sound Credit Union provides digital financial services that necessarily involve account-data processing, fraud monitoring, and transaction surveillance, even without evidence of unusual biometric or AI behavior scanning. [9]

Bonus Credits

Bonus	Credit	Why this credit
Good Deal ? Credit for unusually fair value: durable quality, fair pricing, low lock-in, and clear customer surplus.	1 / 3	Sound Credit Union's not-for-profit credit-union structure gives members a stronger claim on rates, fees, and service value than ordinary shareholder-bank customers. Sound Credit Union's not-for-profit credit-union structure gives members a stronger claim on rates, fees, and service value than ordinary shareholder-bank customers. This merits a limited Good Deal bonus because the practice gives ordinary members or customers clearer value, cost legibility, or civic protection than the baseline financial-sector record. It remains partial because the evidence is narrower than a durable, institution-wide guarantee. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Financial-services expansion pass calibrated against existing credit unions, community-development banks, megabanks, and fintech entries. Linked evidence Sound Credit Union's not-for-profit credit-union structure gives members a stronger claim on rates, fees, and service value than ordinary shareholder-bank customers. [7]

Confidence Basis

Confidence is computed from the evidence trail and review state, not typed into the profile by hand.

Medium 76/100

9 verified linked claims 9 direct axis claims 0 disputed claims 9/12 components covered

This confidence label measures the source-backed evidence trail. AI-scaffolded scores remain tentative until human review.

Claim confidence 18/20

9 verified linked claims

Source quality 12/18

Best source per verified claim, weighted by institutional reliability

Direct axis-specific claims 9/18

9 direct claims across 12 active components

Dispute load 12/12

0 disputed claims on this entity

Recency 10/10

Newest accepted timestamp: May 13, 2026

Reviewer status 7/12

Human-reviewed components score higher than AI scaffolding

Component coverage 8/10

9/12 evidence-bearing components have direct support

Evidence State

Profile stateAI draft / human-pending

VerificationUnverified

ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)

ThoroughnessDeveloped (AI)

Correction routeUse “Challenge this rating” for factual errors, missing counterevidence, source problems, or calculation mistakes.

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Claims and Sources

Claims are the evidence record. Each claim needs a source link, axis category, status, confidence level, and timestamp before it can support a score.

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.

1Sound Credit Union publicly presents itself as a member-owned or member-powered not-for-profit credit union rather than a shareholder-owned bank.

Ownership Verified High confidence Human-reviewed May 12, 2026

Sound Credit Union aboutOfficial self-description · 68%

2Sound Credit Union operates in the credit-union model, where members are the ownership constituency and board governance is formally tied to member control rather than outside equity.

Governance Verified High confidence Human-reviewed May 12, 2026

Sound Credit Union aboutOfficial self-description · 68%

3Sound Credit Union describes a not-for-profit cooperative model that returns value through member service, rates, community benefit, or reinvestment rather than investor dividends.

Extraction Verified High confidence Human-reviewed May 12, 2026

Sound Credit Union aboutOfficial self-description · 68%

4Sound Credit Union offers ordinary consumer banking and lending services as a member-focused alternative to investor-owned banks.

Market Conduct Verified High confidence Human-reviewed May 12, 2026

Sound Credit Union aboutOfficial self-description · 68%

5Sound Credit Union offers practical deposit, lending, card, or digital-banking products that meet ordinary household financial needs without making speculative trading or store-card debt the core product.

Product Integrity Verified High confidence Human-reviewed May 12, 2026

Sound Credit Union aboutOfficial self-description · 68%

6Sound Credit Union has enough scale to provide useful consumer banking access while remaining formally organized as a cooperative financial institution.

Scale Integrity Verified High confidence Human-reviewed May 12, 2026

Sound Credit Union aboutOfficial self-description · 68%

7Sound Credit Union's not-for-profit credit-union structure gives members a stronger claim on rates, fees, and service value than ordinary shareholder-bank customers.

Good Deal Verified High confidence Human-reviewed May 12, 2026

Sound Credit Union aboutOfficial self-description · 68%

8Sound Credit Union's public materials establish cooperative status but do not make practical member governance power as legible as the strongest worker or community-controlled institutions.

Accountability Opacity Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed May 12, 2026

Sound Credit Union aboutOfficial self-description · 68%

9Sound Credit Union provides digital financial services that necessarily involve account-data processing, fraud monitoring, and transaction surveillance, even without evidence of unusual biometric or AI behavior scanning.

Surveillance Capture Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed May 12, 2026

Sound Credit Union aboutOfficial self-description · 68%

Alternatives

Competitors

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