Two of NYC’s Largest CUs Join Federation - National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions

UN FCU and Municipal CU Become CD Partners

(September 24, 2007 – New York, NY) This summer saw two of the largest credit unions in New York City, Municipal CU (New York, NY) and United Nations FCU (Long Island City, Queens), join the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation) as Community Development Partners.

United Nations (UN) FCU has assets $2.5 billion and was chartered in 1947 to serve the employees of the United Nations. The credit union currently serves more than 73,000 members throughout the world.

UN FCU Executive Vice President, William Predmore, and Federation Director of Technical Assistance, Brian Gately, at UN FCU’s headquarters in Long Island City, Queens.

William Predmore, Executive Vice President of UN FCU, explained why the credit union chose to join the Federation, “We realize the critical importance of the Federation’s programs and initiatives. These are activities that strengthen credit unions serving predominantly low-income markets. On behalf of UN FCU, I commend and support the Federation’s efforts to help those credit unions with a commitment to serving low-income communities.”

Municipal Credit Union, known as MCU, also became one of the Federation’s Community Development Partners. MCU has assets of more than $1.3 billion and serves over 296,000 members. MCU serves a New York City-wide field of membership, plus Yonkers. It is a state-chartered and federally-insured credit union, and was founded in 1916.

“Partnering with the Federation was a natural progression for MCU,” explained Kam Wong, Chief Executive Officer of MCU, “We’ve enjoyed a close relationship often sharing our resources and supporting their initiatives throughout the years. This step solidifies a long-standing relationship and demonstrates our commitment to serving the underserved through our support of the Federation.”

“Many of the city employees served by Municipal also live in the low-income communities our CDCUs serve,” explained Federation Executive Director Clifford Rosenthal. “In addition, Municipal’s main office is located near the Federation’s headquarters in Manhattan’s Financial District, so working together is a natural fit.”

“We are extremely pleased to have two of the largest credit unions in the City ally themselves with the Federation,” said Pablo DeFilippi, Federation Associate Director for Membership Development, “Having these visionary credit unions join us in our mission of bringing affordable financial services to low-income communities sends a strong message that credit unions are working together to help people in need.”

Community Development Partner membership is open to any credit union with a strong demonstrated commitment to serving low-and moderate-income people and communities, regardless of charter type. Currently the Federation has over 40 Community Development Partners, including some of the largest credit unions in the country.

Many of have opened new branches in low-income areas, offer services to immigrants, are helping people repair their credit or get a first loan, offer alternatives to “payday” and predatory lenders, finance affordable housing, and/or are assisting a local CDCU. These credit unions have chosen to affiliate with the Federation to expand their knowledge on developing new products, programs, and services to better service members in those communities.

To view all our Community Development Partners, click here.

For more information about Community Development Partner membership, contact Pablo DeFilippi, Associate Director for Membership Development, at pablo@cdcu.coop, or (800) 437-8711, ext. 304.