<p>LAS VEGAS – During the Financial Service Centers Cooperative, Inc. annual meeting here, FSCC CEO Sarah Canepa Bang announced that over 125 new outlets are opening in the network in 2002, with 40 more scheduled by year end. Branches are scheduled to open in the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Puerto Rico and Italy. "This dramatic growth is a result of cooperation among credit unions and a widening acceptance of shared branching as the new delivery channel. Our research shows that more than 55% of consumers live within a five mile radius of their preferred financial institution; building enough branches to accommodate that kind of demand is staggering even for the country's largest credit unions." said Canepa Bang. Credit unions involved in shared branching in the U.S. represent over 16 million members and over $100 billion in assets in 37 states and four countries. Of the 803 branches involved in shared branching, 320 are participating through the FSCC network. An average of 50,000 transactions a day and over 1.5 million transactions per month are processed through shared branching. Last year, members of FSCC credit unions performed over 12.7 million transactions at shared branches, representing a 13% growth over 2000. According to Canepa Bang, projections for 2002 point to a 15% growth rate.</p>