Low-Income Credit Union Empowering Members
with
Access to Member Business Lending
March 22, 2006, New York, NY – National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman JoAnn Johnson visited Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union (LESPFCU), a low-income designated credit union, which demonstrates the credit union philosophy of “people helping people” by providing access to affordable financial services in an underserved area of New York City.
Chairman Johnson toured small business entrepreneurs in the community that have benefited from LESPFCU’s micro lending program. In addition to serving a Hispanic community of lower Manhattan, LESPFCU has expanded its field of membership to underserved residents living in West Harlem.
“Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union is a great example of an emerging and visionary credit union that is meeting the demand for small business lending and is filling a niche needed by growing small business owners,” said National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman JoAnn Johnson, who has made member business lending a priority during her term. “Credit unions can and are meeting the business lending needs of their members. I commend the credit union for branching out to serve the underserved. These not-for-profit financial cooperatives such as Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union are enabling more Americans to establish small businesses, which create jobs and helps realize a positive economic impact in communities across the country.”
Chairman Johnson also visited Colors, a new cooperative restaurant that recently opened for business and received a bridge loan from LESPFCU. The restaurant founders are former employees of Windows On The World, the restaurant in the top of the World Trade Center which was destroyed on September 11th. According to organizers, the credit union financed the project while other financial services providers were not interested in the project.
The National Credit Union Administration, governed by a three-member board appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, is the independent federal agency that regulates, charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of more than 85 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the overwhelming majority of state-chartered credit unions.
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