CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In what may be the start of a growing credit union trend Charlotte Metro Credit Union has named Elizabeth Ramos as its new Manager of Latino Relations. "The Spanish-speaking community has been important to our credit union for some time", said CMCU Vice President of Marketing, Deb McLean, "We wanted a fully-experienced and fluent "point person" for our contacts with the business leaders and new immigrants of the Latino communities in Mecklenburg and Union county. Ramos, with her financial experience, fluency in Spanish, and leadership capabilities fit the bill perfectly." A native Puerto Rican fluent in both English and Spanish, Ramos has had over 17 years of lending and member service experience and has worked for CMCU since early 2000 as an account manager. A recent survey finds that ethnic minorities are the fastest growing force in the United States and by 2007 Hispanic-American purchasing power will leap 89% to over $900 billion. Experts agree that financial institutions that are successfully serving minority communities have not only thoroughly researched the market but have also developed strong local partnerships.