The $16 million Bethex Federal Credit Union has won an award that will bring it an additional $25,000, the credit union said.
Bethex is a leading community development credit union in Bronx, N.Y., and has long been recognized as a community development financial institution. The Wachovia Wells Fargo NEXT Awards recognized Bethex's long history of serving the lower income areas of the Bronx.
The Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation funds the grant program which has recognized other community development credit unions in the past.
The award has capped a year of recognition and grants for the CDCU, according to Bethex Chairman Lillian Bent.
"It is very exciting to receive this award," she said. "We recently received a $750,000 grant from the CDFI Fund and $500,000 in secondary capital from Treasury's Community Development Capital Initiative, so this really feels like icing on the cake."
Cliff Rosenthal, CEO of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, noted the award was well deserved in light of Bethex's long history of working with lower income Bronx residents.
"Bethex Federal Credit Union is an institution that's near and dear to our hearts," he said. "The Federation has worked with Bethex since its earliest days and we have provided them with low-cost capital investments, technical assistance, and staff training through our CDCU Institute.
"Bethex has been serving residents of the South Bronx for 40 years, and remains one of the only regulated financial institutions available to its community. They are an absolutely vital financial institution, and this award recognizes their decades of service to one of most low-income communities in the nation."
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