Nationally Recognized Credit Union Shares Strategy, Successes 

Washington, DC–Bill Bynum, CEO of HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation/Hope Credit Union), is participating in today’s White House Community Leaders Briefing on how cooperatives can help spur economic recovery through job creation and continued investment in their communities.

Today’s gathering, organized in conjunction with the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA), will include 150 leaders of cooperatives from all sectors of the economy.

Hope Credit Union, a community development credit union serving the Mid South, is one of the cooperatives that will be highlighted in today’s discussion. The credit union was chartered in 1995 by members of Anderson United Methodist Church to help low-income residents build financial assets and strengthen their financial standing. It also serves as an alternative to predatory lenders. Since its chartering, the credit union has expanded and today has 16 branches in four states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee) to provide services, education and counseling to traditionally unbanked and under-banked communities.

“Cooperatives like HOPE fill an important need as people continue to struggle with a difficult economic environment, and having a financial institution that puts members first is a real benefit to families and communities looking for access to affordable, responsible accounts and loans,” said Bynum. “The credit union’s growth and its ability to serve as the primary financial institution for more than 26,000 members is a testament to the power of cooperatives.”

This week, the NCBA released results of a survey it developed with the Consumer Federation of America on Americans’ experience with cooperatives. Results of the survey, conducted by Opinion Research Corp. International, showed how participants viewed cooperatives against for-profit institutions. Cooperatives consistently won higher marks, as follows:

  • 76 percent said cooperatives run their businesses in a trustworthy manner; 61 percent said for-profits do.
  • 74 percent said cooperatives have customers’ best interests in mind; 52 percent said for-profits do.
  • 77 percent said cooperatives are committed to providing the highest quality of service to their customers; 64 percent said for-profits do.
  • 75 percent said cooperatives provide high-value products; 70 percent said for-profits do.
  • 79 percent said cooperatives can be counted on to meet customers’ needs; 67 percent said for-profits do.
  • 77 percent said cooperatives offer fair, competitive prices; 70 percent said for-profits do.

Earlier this week, a National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) survey rating consumers’ trust of providers ranked “a credit union” higher than any of the named banks (http://www.nafcu.org/News/2012_News/May/CUs_score_high_in_trust_survey/).

The United Nations has designated 2012 the International Year of the Cooperative (IYC). The IYC is intended to raise public awareness of the invaluable contributions of cooperative enterprises to poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration. The Year will also highlight the strengths of the cooperative business model as an alternative means of doing business and furthering socioeconomic development.

“We are excited to have this opportunity to highlight what cooperatives, and specifically credit unions, can do to help create more stable and sustainable environments for families and businesses,” said Bynum. “As HOPE continues to grow and combat the spread of bank deserts, it highlights the power of cooperatives and celebrates the tradition of people pooling resources to support their neighbors and their communities.”

HOPE is a regional financial institution, community development intermediary and policy center that provides affordable financial services; leverages private, public and philanthropic resources; and engages in policy analysis in order to fulfill its mission of strengthening communities, building assets and improving lives in economically distressed parts of the Mid South. Since 1994, HOPE’s efforts have generated more than $1.6 billion in financing and benefited more than 120,000 individuals in the Delta, Katrina-affected areas, and other distressed communities throughout Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.