The National Credit Union Administration’s
Everest Federal Credit Union, based in the heavily South Asian neighborhood of Jackson Heights in Queens, N.Y., was chartered to serve the 15,000 members of an organization called the Non-Resident Nepalis National Association Coordination Council of USA, which was formed to preserve the cultural heritage of the Nepalese community while advocating for the welfare and rights of its members. The council is part of the Non- Resident Nepali Association, which helps Nepalese community organizations and which also sponsored the credit union.
NRNA is a not-for-profit organization serving Nepalis living in the U.S. – and most Nepali people living in the USA come under its umbrella.
According to Adhikaar, a
Among other things, they tend to have few resources, little education and limited English skills, and are often employed in informal sectors, where they endure low wages, long hours, hazardous work environments and, in some cases, even abuse by employers.
Dilli Raj Bhatta, Esq., the founder of New York City-based legal firm Bhatta Law & Associates PLLC, helped to form the credit union.
Bhatta, who was raised in India and Nepal, told Credit Union Journal the idea for the credit union emerged from the Nepali community itself in Queens, who spoke about it many times. “We decided to move forward with this idea about three years ago,” he said.
NCUA's chartering manual advises that it normally takes between one and three years to charter a new CU. Everest FCU began the process in 2015.
Bhatta said he and his firm volunteered to help charter the credit union at no cost.
“There were so many revisions and procedures to be completed before moving to the next step,” he added. The NCUA, he explained, asked him to make many changes on such issues as business plans, policy memoranda, survey methods, budget, expenses, projections, services and more
“We spoke on conference calls and communicated via emails,” Bhatta stated. “NCUA made sure that everything we did was per their satisfaction and guidelines.”
Biraj Rijal, a CPA based in Queens, has been appointed as a manager of Everest FCU. He is expected to continue serving as treasurer once a full-time manager is found.
Bhatta further said that, according to unofficial data, there are some 300,000 Nepalis currently living in the U.S., with a huge concentration in Queens.
Many Nepalis in the U.S., said Bhatta, lack “proper knowledge and information” on their finances.
“They are hard-working and entrepreneurial in spirit, but have little or no knowledge on how to grow their savings, invest properly, save for retirement and so on,” he elaborated, adding that many also face issues related to builng a credit history, finding access to small business loans or saving for retirement or children’s education.
“Some also face difficulties in managing family-owned shops, and many are unable to afford a house,” he added.
A credit union could help to alleviate some of these problems.
Great expectations
Bhatta said that interest in the credit union is running very high.
“We are expecting a lot of people to get involved with the credit union as soon as we begin banking activities,” he said. “Hundreds of Nepalis from different states have already contacted us, showing their willingness to be a part of this credit union. Many small business owners have also showed their interest in it. We have collected about $700,000 in donations from about 200 Nepali individuals as of August 29.”
Within one year, Bhatta said the credit union expects to have about $7 million in assets and 3,000 members.
Beyond providing financial literacy and credit-building education, Bhatta noted, the credit union will also help its members with immigration and citizenship issues as specified under its policies and guidelines.
The CU’s name, of course, refers to Nepal’s most famous symbol and the highest mountain in the world. But Bhatta also noted that the name was selected because it “gives us a sense of hope of growing high as an institution in America.”
Bhatta, who recently returned from an immigration forum in Bangladesh, said he might also be interested in helping to form a similar credit union for the burgeoning Bangladeshi community in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx.
He added that chartering the Nepali credit union has been a “valuable experience for myself as well, and I would not want to waste it.”
