The 2012 World Council of Credit Unions Conference in Poland last week included a presentation from Melia Keller, president/CEO for the $25 million, Compton, Calif.-based Mid Cities Credit Union, who discussed strategies for serving underserved markets, the credit union announced.
Keller addressed the conference's Young Professionals group on the topic, Mid Cities CU said. She described strategies such as how credit unions can reach unbanked and underserved markets through familiar products, as well as how they can provide financial product incentives to these markets.
Her presentation included an example of a Mid Cities CU incentive program: an affordable auto loan product that credit-challenged members can obtain in exchange for installing a GPS device in their vehicles.
"It was an honor to be able to share our best practices with such a diverse group of credit union professionals from around the globe," Keller said. "I learned a great deal from the participants in the program as well as other attendees of the World Council event."
Mid Cities CU serves around 5,000 members in the Los Angeles area communities of Compton, Paramount, Norwalk, Bellflower, Lynwood, North Long Breach and Carson.
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
