Members Credit Union Cos Cob: first in CT to win bilingual designation
- Members Credit Union was the first credit union in the state to be recognized as a “Juntos Avanzamos” credit union last week — one which helps underserved Spanish-speaking and immigrant clients. Shown from left are Carlos Castro-Velez, Peter Yeskey, Lesley Ulloa, Harrinson Agudelo-Rios, Kelly Kortner, Brian Wood, Helen Charles, Evelyn Montufar, Michael Gavan, Elsa Soogrim, Kathy Chartier, Lynn Sabatino, Vanessa Kuduk, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, Linda Shirley and Cathie Mahon. Photo: Contributed / National Federation Of Community Development Credit Unions" class="landscape" />
GREENWICH — Saira Lopez moved to the United States in 1998 from Colombia, and three years ago decided to do something about her struggle to manage bills and car expenses on a low income.
Today she has purchased her car and has her own apartment, she said, and thanks the Members Credit Union for its bilingual financial help.
“After that, it was more easy for me to get back to normal with all my credit cards,” Lopez said Wednesday afternoon. “I’m building my credit and getting ready to be a home buyer.”
The community credit union last week was the first in the state to receive the national “Juntos Avanzamos” designation, given to credit unions that serve Hispanic customers.
The designation — which originated in Texas and expanded nationwide through the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions — was celebrated recently at the MCU’s East Putnam Avenue office with a proclamation ceremony.
“Juntos Avanzamos” translates from Spanish to “We advance together.”
Texas’s Cornerstone Credit Union League created the designation for credit unions that serve Hispanic consumers in 2005. There are around 70 Juntos Avanzamos credit unions across 19 states.
MCU President Kathy L. Chartier on Wednesday said the financial institution helps all underserved communities regardless of background, saying helping the struggling is “business as usual.”
“There are so many predatory lenders out there and we really want to provide service for our members,” she said.
According to CUInsight.com, Chartier said MCU, although it helps Fairfield County residents from all walks of life, qualifies for the designation because it also “offers bilingual and bicultural staff members, a Spanish-language website and forms, special products, counseling to improve immigrants’ financial position and engagement with social-service agencies in Greenwich and Stamford.”
MCU opened in 1935 to provide financial services for underserved teachers in Fairfield County.
When Chartier joined the team as its first full-time employee in 1987, she said demographics and populations in need were beginning to shift; the need for bilingual services rose as more kitchen and maintenance staff from Greenwich Country Day and Greenwich Academy joined the credit union.
The new designation, she said, was acknowledgment of what has been standard operating procedure for the branch.
“We’ve always had a very diverse staff,” she said. “One-third of our staff speaks Spanish and is bicultural, so it’s always been natural for us.”
Pablo DeFilippi, senior vice president of membership and network engagement at the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, said the Greenwich business offers more than just bilingual staff.
“There are other barriers sometimes financial institutions don't see that have an impact on these communities, like using ID documents to sign up for accounts,” he said. “It’s a big obstacle for immigrants to open accounts. .. (MCU) looked at their policies and changed all of that to make sure all of those immigrant barriers were addressed.
“So if somebody goes to their branch, they will not be told ‘no’ because of their documentation, or denied a loan because they don’t have credit history,” he said.
Members Credit Union’s “designation is an excellent testimony to the good work that credit unions do to provide service to people who lack access to affordable financial services,” said Connecticut Credit Union League CEO Jill Nowacki this week.
“What credit unions have historically and will continue to excel at,” said Nowacki, “is to be aware of the changing needs of the community and to be to provide services for those needs.”
E: JTuriano@greenwichtime.com; T: @jturianoGT; IG: @greenwichgreen
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