LANCASTER, S.C.-NCUA Board Member Debbie Matz participated in the grand opening of Founders Federal Credit Union's first bilingual branch. Matz emphasized that this was not just any credit union branch opening; it was the first bilingual branch by a financial institution in the area. "Across America, Latinos are the fastest-growing segment of our population," she said. "Yet more than 40% of Latinos have no relationship with an insured financial institution. So today Founders FCU is sending a powerful message to residents of this community: You finally have an institution you can trust." She also pointed out that Founders is an excellent example of a large credit union serving its entire community. "With $1 billion in assets, Founders is setting an outstanding example for large CUs by making a commitment to serve everyone in this community," Matz added. The focus on the Latino community came about when the credit union discovered that its main sponsor, Springs Industries, aimed to hire Latinos to represent half of its hourly workforce. The credit union reached out to the community to help determine their needs and introduced unique services like bilingual staff and free IRnet wire services.