The California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues announced a newpartnership with the National Federation of Community DevelopmentCredit Unions last week that will allow it to help cooperativesearn designations to serve the growing Hispanic market.

Originally launched in 2005 by the Texas Credit Union League asan immigrant outreach program, the Juntos Avanzamos designation wasdeveloped to enable credit unions to attract and serve Latinomembers.

The Juntos Avanzamos designation means cooperatives offerbilingual services and information, collaborate with organizationsthat support the Hispanic community, provide financial informationspecific to help Latino members, offer affordable products andservices to meet the financial needs of Hispanics, and have aformal strategic plan for improving services for Hispanics.

The $632 million SCE Federal Credit Union in Irwindale, Calif.was first cooperative in the Golden State to receive the Juntos Avanzamos certification, according to the Californialeague.

“Reaching out to immigrants is a good investment and the rightthing to do – in fact, it’s not only the right thing to do, it’sthe legal thing to do,” SCEFCU COO George Poitou said. “Our branchin Boyle Heights here in Los Angeles is our most profitablelocation. We’re making all types of loans to [Latinos] to meettheir needs. They become your most loyal members for life. Morecredit unions should explore getting involved in this.”

The $105 million Santa Cruz Community Credit Union in SantaCruz, Calif., has also earned the designation, according to theCalifornia league.

Three additional credit unions – the $605 million Self-HelpFederal Credit Union in Durham, N.C., which operates more than 20branches in the Bay Area, Central Valley and Los Angeles; the $3.7billion Kinecta Federal Credit Union in Manhattan Beach, Calif. and the$7.7 million Family Federal Credit Union in Wilmington, Calif. –are in the review stages, Pablo DeFilippi, NFCDCU’s vice presidentof membership and business development, said.

"We now have more than 40 credit unions in the country that areJuntos Avanzamos credit unions, which are mostly located inCalifornia, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas,” he said.

The Juntos Avanzamos designation became available to creditunions nationwide in September.