DURHAM, N.C. – Latino Community CU won a $500,000 grant and $5 million loan today from Wachovia Bank to help finance its rapid expansion.
The fast-growing credit union, among the first recipients of the Wachovia NEXT Awards, will use the money to finance expansion into three new markets, Winston-Salem, Wake and Mecklenberg.
Wachovia said it chose Latino Community for its role in brining multi-lingual financial services to North Carolina’s fast-growing Hispanic population. The credit union was chartered in 2002 with an aim towards reducing crime against the area’s immigrant Latinos, many of whom carry their finances in cash or kept it home.
The credit union, known in the thriving Hispanic community as Cooperativa Comunitaria Latina de Crédito, has grown to $54 million in assets and 50,000 members in just five years.
Also receiving a Wachovia Award was Accion Texas, a San Antonio group that makes small business loans.
Funding for the awards was provided through a $17 million grant from Wachovia Bank and $25 million in low-cost loans from the MacArthur Foundation.
