SAN FRANCISCO-The people behind Occupy San Francisco are attempting to do more than just urge consumers to move their business to a credit union; they are seeking to charter one.
On the group's Facebook page Occupy SF said the "goal of this project is to encourage San Francisco residents, businesses, as well as non-profit and city agencies to keep their money out of the big banks and to redistribute that money locally."
Initial services targeted by the founders are micro-loans for the working poor and homeless and subsidized student loans at low interest rates. The credit union is tentatively to be called People's Reserve CU.
Brian McKeown, who identified himself as the principal founder of the credit union, told CU Journal he has experience with microfinance "and I am an entrepreneur."
"I was researching starting a CDFI a couple years ago for the California State College system," he said. "We are putting together a diverse group of people with banking experience and who have started banks and credit unions."
When reminded chartering a CU can take months and years of effort, McKeown replied, "I am certainly prepared and I am not unaware of the work involved in starting up a credit union."
According to McKeown, the organizers of People's Reserve CU are close to finishing up the business plan and are actively searching for a manager/CEO. He said the group has "some leads" for the CEO position, but it also is concerned with doing more outreach in the community.
The Occupy SF Facebook page said the founding of a credit union is "a response to criminal Wall Street activities, exploitative behavior of the big banks, and the dire needs of the local community."
The group initial business plan calls for:
• Opening with 500 members and growing to 2,000 members before December 2012.
• Accumulating capital of at least $7 million from a variety of organizations and the membership.
• Opening two branches within the City of San Francisco.
• Including within those branches a cafe and a commercial kitchen available to rent. The credit union will employ students and homeless and is projecting it will create 60 part-time jobs.
• Building a portfolio of 300-500 micro-enterprise loans, with a maximum loan amount of $5,000.
• Financing and starting a food co-op large enough to support a neighborhood.
Website To Be Launched
A website is expected to launch soon at: www.peoplesreservecreditunion.com.
McKeown said the "majority" of the team needed to found and run the credit union has already been assembled.
"I have been working with several career professionals," he said. "When the world sees the experience, success and resumes for the people who will be on the advisory board and the board of directors when we release that information in the next couple weeks, they will be impressed."
