NEW YORK – Grameen America, the U.S. affiliate of micro-financer Grameen Bank, is preparing an application to charter a credit union that will serve a similar clientele in the U.S.
The proposed credit union will initially target micro-entrepreneurs with loans of up to $1,500, "people substantially below the poverty line," said Bruce Jolly, a Washington attorney working on the application. "The first thing is we have to get the field of membership defined," Jolly told The Credit Union Journal yesterday.
The credit union will initially be based on Grameen America’s office’s in Jackson Heights, New York City neighborhood. But plans include satellite offices, according to Jolly.
Grameen Bank, based in Bangladesh, was developed by Muhammed Yunis, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his efforts.
Jolly said he is also working on a charter for New York City police officers, tentatively called New York’s Finest FCU.
