Credit unions from the West Coast to the South and the Midwestare waking up to the fact that reaching out to potential Hispanicmembers is an important part insuring a growth for theindustry.

According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, there are roughly52.0 million Hispanics living in the United States, representingapproximately 16.7% of the total population, making people ofHispanic origin the nation's largest ethnic or race minority. TheU.S. Hispanic population is estimated to reach 132.8 million by2050.

 “Reaching and serving the Latino community is not onlyphilosophically a good thing for our credit union, it is also aninvestment for membership growth for our credit union,” said ChadCunningham a loan officer for the $385 million Consumers CreditUnion in Kalamazoo, Mich.  “We want to live out ourmission statement of providing quality products and services thatcontribute to the economic and social well-being of our entirefield of membership. It is essential that our strategies take intoaccount the fact that the Latino population is currently thefastest growing demographic in Michigan. Over the past 10 years,while the total state population has decreased, the Latinopopulation has grown 35%.”