(June 28, 2010 – New York, NY)  Responding to the extreme stress in the credit union community on the one hand, and the growing opportunities to access federal resources on the other, the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation) has announced a systematic expansion of its consulting and technical assistance services for credit unions. The new reorganization aims to strengthen the Federation’s Technical Assistance to its member CDCUs, while expanding its CU Breakthrough™ consulting services for all credit unions looking to increase their impact in underserved communities.

“There is growing alarm among small credit unions that the expenses for corporate stabilization and the Share Insurance Fund will increase pressure to merge or liquidate them,” said Federation President/CEO Cliff Rosenthal.  “Even small credit unions that are well-capitalized and present minimal risk to the Fund are running scared.  The Federation will be supporting several initiatives, including the ‘We Care’ program spearheaded by Joy Cousminer of Bethex FCU, and our Spirit Network of faith-based credit unions.” 

Additionally, Brian Gately, formerly Director of Technical Assistance, will now serve as the Federation’s Senior Consultant for Small and Emerging Credit Unions, leveraging his extensive experience to help small credit unions meet the myriad regulatory and compliance requirements. 

At the same time, Rosenthal said, the Federation has seen unprecedented membership growth in connection with the recent Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI) of the Treasury Department.  “Our ranks grew by 15% over the last few months, including credit unions with hundreds of millions of dollars of assets.  We are working with dozens of credit unions to obtain tens of millions of dollars of secondary-capital through the CDCI.  But it won’t stop there: this year, the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund will have more funding and programs available than ever before, and the Federation will work diligently to ensure credit unions receive their fair share.”

Terry Ratigan will continue as lead consultant for the Federation’s CU Breakthrough™ service, which has worked to get a record number of credit unions certified as CDFIs and designated low-income. Both credentials are necessary for various federal resources, Ratigan explained. “We’re expanding CU Breakthrough to meet the growing demand for expertise in reaching underserved markets,” Rosenthal commented. Credit unions have never received enough recognition and resources for their work to serve the underserved.  We aim to change that.” 

Services to credit unions of all types and sizes are coordinated by the Federation’s Director of Membership Services, Pablo DeFilippi (Pablo@cdcu.coop).

© 2010 National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions.