LOS ANGELES – After nearly 18 months in the works, federal grant money-drawn in part from Treasury's First Accounts-is proving a boon to membership gains by four southern California credit unions among Hispanics. "Now we have something to show for our efforts-4,000 members moved from unbanked status," declared George Poitou, chief operating officer of SCE FCU of Irwindale, a panelist during a presentation on "Servicing the Hispanic Community" at the recent California/Nevada Credit Union Leagues' convention in Las Vegas. In addition to SCE, also joining in the estimated $100,000 First Account grant-and adding new members–are: Arrowhead CU, Coast Hills FCU, and Water and Power Community CU. The four are the beneficiaries of two other grants, one from the Ford Foundation and a second administered by NCUF though the Treasury. The goal of these grants has been to provide the unbanked with free financial management services. In winning the accounts, Poitou and other convention panel participants reviewed the many unbanked challenges in areas like staff training and bridging language barriers. In addition, they recounted difficulties in finding qualified community groups and finally implementing data processing changes. "We learned that many immigrants particularly living in Santa Monica identify closely with their Mexican hometowns and so we had to determine which hometown associations we could work with," said Kayleen Leone, senior vice president of Water and Power Community CU. But in Pico Union, another Los Angeles neighborhood, WPCCU has set up a working arrangement with an immigrant group from El Salvador with the CU operating a non-cash branch in the headquarters of El Rescate, a nonprofit. El Rescate serves as an excellent referral agency to WPCCU, she said, and now "we have a micro-branch that will operate in their community center." The El Rescate facility, which was to open Nov. 21, would provide general information and financial counseling to unbanked consumers as well as open new accounts. "Our hope is to transition them to a full-service branch nearby," Leone concluded. All of the panel members agreed that for CUs to successfully serve the unbanked there has to be full commitment from top management and staff.. "You can't just have a few Spanish translators and call it commitment," concluded Poitou. Other panelists agreed that it is vital to learn and understand the culture and to hire a staff which fully supports aiding the undeserved. -

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