Troubled Latino CU To Merge

MESA, Ariz. – MariSol FCU said it has agreed to acquire Chicanos Por La Causa FCU, a troubled Phoenix credit union it has been managing since last July.

MariSol, which also has large Latino membership and mainly serves Maricopa County workers, has operated the smaller credit union since July 2008. Romano said MariSol had trouble attracting a manager for Chicanos Por La Causa because of its size.

Chicanos Por La Causa has been hit by the economic downturn. It lost $1.75 million over the past four quarters and wrote off 18.4% of its loans in the first quarter - the highest rate for any Arizona credit union.

The deal will combine two credit unions that serve a predominantly Hispanic membership and create a $30 million credit union with four branches and more than 8,000 members.