Credit Unions Capitalize on Hispanic Market Potential

by. Ray Birch

Reaching out to the Hispanic community has been on the radar of Bridgeway Federal Credit Union the last few years. It’s a quickly growing segment of the U.S. population whose presence is hard to ignore—nationally, across the Empire State, and in Bridgeway FCU’s own backyard.

But it wasn’t until the credit union partnered with the Credit Union Association of New York and Coopera, a leading national expert on reaching the Hispanic market, that they realized how large the opportunity actually is.

Bridgeway FCU is one of five New York credit unions participating in the Hispanic Member Growth Strategy Program, which is being offered by the association and  Coopera in partnership with the New York Credit Union Foundation and REAL Solutions. Cooperative Federal CU (Syracuse), Entertainment Industries FCU, MSBA Employees FCU, and Saratoga’s Community FCU are also participating in the program, which is designed primarily for credit unions with $25 million-$500 million in assets. A version is also available for credit unions with less than $25million in assets.

Coopera first provided the participating credit unions with an in-depth analysis of the local Hispanic opportunity, called the Hispanic Opportunity Navigator (HON). Bridgeway FCU’s study showed that, out of 852,000 of the total population in the credit union’s three-county area, 114,000 are Hispanic.

continue reading »