MONROE, La. – With the end of its federal designation in sight,the Ouachita Enterprise Community (OEC) wants to leave a lastingimpact on the economically disadvantaged geographic area it hasserved for the last 10 years. The organization will do that, ithopes, by obtaining a federal charter for a community credit unionwith a low-income designation. The OEC is an organization that wasestablished in 1994, as part of the Clinton Administration'sEmpowerment Zone/Enterprise Community program, to administerfederal funding for community revitalization and developmentefforts in Ouachita Parish. One of the criteria for being selectedas an “Enterprise Community” was the area's high poverty rate.Funding for the program will expire at the end of 2004, and OEC iscurrently restructuring the agency to sustain itself beyond theFederal Empowerment Zone designation. Regardless, OEC believesestablishing a credit union would keep the organization's goalsmoving forward into the future. “A credit union could meet a keyeconomic need for the impoverished people in Ouachita Parish,” saidKhasi Reitzell, executive director of the Ouachita EnterpriseCommunity. “Many residents here do not have access to mainstreamfinancial services.” The only financial institutions in the areaare major banking entities, and their services are not tailored toa large part of the population, Reitzell said. “Close to 15% of thepeople in this area have annual incomes of $10,000 to $15,000, andthey are not being served. They don't have checking accounts, andthey can't qualify for loans. The data we're getting back suggeststhat in fact these people are actually targets of many predatorialtypes – they have to use check cashing places to cash theirpaychecks and take out payday loans just to get by.” OEC BoardMember Tom Nicholson chairs the 12-person steering committeeexploring the possibility of chartering a credit union. He is aformer bank CEO and previously spearheaded the bank's communityreinvestment activities for six years. Nicholson confirmedReitzell's assessment. “It is difficult for banks to provideadequate and substantive service to this demographic group andremain viable. When OEC's consultant floated the idea of a creditunion in the area, I was immediately captivated by the potential.”The Metro Statistical Area encompassing Ouachita Parish has a totalpopulation of 150,000; the Parish's two chief cities, Monroe andWest Monroe, account for less than half that figure. Nicholsoncharacterized southern Monroe, the low-income section, by saying,“This is the older section, the original core area, of town,” hesaid. “It is heavily residential with a significant number ofrental properties and transients. The classic mental image ofeconomic development is a community recruiting businesses,businesses hiring employees from the community, which in turn,boosts the economy. That's not going to happen here. There is verylittle business here and not a lot of developable property.” “Thegoal of the OEC is to help people within the target area becomemore economically self-sufficient,” Nicholson continued. “A creditunion would offer citizens access to financial services theyotherwise would not have. This is an important step in becomingmore self sufficient.” The OEC has submitted a letter of interestto the National Credit Union Administration and currently isdistributing surveys to measure support for a credit union: in Cityof Monroe employee paychecks; in local churches and businesses; ata radio remote broadcast, during which the OEC served freehamburgers and hot dogs; and at a community meeting held Sept. 8.The OEC would fund initial credit union operations through a$150,000 grant. The community has expressed excitement about thepossibility of a credit union, according to Reitzell. “Surveysindicate that if we get the charter, people would definitely join.We need 250 completed surveys to submit to the NCUA, but we want toget 1,000. We have 575 so far,” Reitzell said. Nicholson said it'stoo early to define what services members of the community needmost, but he doesn't expect to see a huge demand for small businessloans. “The Enterprise Community has had a small business loanprogram up and running for some time. It's a small program. Notmany have applied, and even fewer have qualified.” Both Reitzelland Nicholson expressed hope that the establishment of a creditunion might further spark bank community reinvestment activity inthe area. “In addition to the OEC grant, we would be requestingother pledges from the community. Maybe banks will see that this isan important project that they could be involved with to meet CRArequirements.” If the OEC succeeds with its plans, the credit unionwould be the first chartered in Louisiana in more than 20 years,according to Louisiana Credit Union League's Alicia Toups. The mostrecent new charter, Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff's Credit Union,was in 1983. Nicholson said the OEC is slightly behind its originaltimeline, but anticipates they could receive a charter by early2004. “Getting the charter is no big deal, the real work comesafter that,” Nicholson said. -

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