ATLANTA – By 2007, African-Americans are projected to have $850 billion in buying power, but only 11% belong to a credit union. This, according to a presentation from Bill Hampel, CUNA chief economist, presented at the AACUC's recent annual meeting. Citing data from CUNA's 2002 National Member Survey Report and the U.S. Census Bureau, Hampel said serving the African-American market means understanding that they tend to be more geographically dispersed; cost-conscious; travel to shop at a new or better store and very focused on family and religion. African-Americans only accounted for 11% of credit union membership compared to 76% for Whites, 11% for Hispanics and 2% for Asians, according to CUNA and the Census. In 2001, African-American employees comprised just 11% of all credit union employees, compared to 73% for Whites, 10% for Hispanics and 6% for Asians, according to the U.S. EEOC's 2001 Employer Information Report. The report looked at credit unions with 50 or more employees. "There's still some more work to do in the African-American movement," Hampel said, adding the use of a non-traditional marketing approach will be one key factor in increasing membership. In the economic portion of his presentation, Hampel also reiterated his belief that 10.7% "is more than (credit unions) need to be adequately capitalized." June 2003′s Treasury Yield curve at 1.0, will be the lowest credit unions will see over the next 10 years, he said. Through 2005, the industry can expect robust loan growth, weaker savings growth and stable net worth ratios even as net income falls. [email protected]