WASHINGTON—The World Cup kicks off Thursday and won't end until a month later, but one credit union here is already feeling like a winner.
OAS Staff FCU is offering members a loan for up to $10,000 in order to facilitate a trip to attend the quadrennial soccer tournament in Brazil this summer.
The promotion is essentially a personal loan, priced at 5.25% and available to members with A and B credit, according to Raquel Rovira, senior loan officer at the $162 million credit union,
"Everybody wants the $10,000, because the interest rate is very good and our members are very well paid," said Rovira. "Everybody qualifies. I think there is one guy that only wanted $6,500, but pretty much everybody wants the $10,000."
Because the promotion was still going on, Rovira was unable to say the total number of loans the credit union had made so far or the exact dollar amount lent, but said that it was more than 25 so far.
OAS—which was chartered in 1965 to serve employees of the Organization of American States—has a heavy concentration of South and Central American members, "and they are soccer fanatics," Rovira noted.
The credit union is promoting the loan through its website and word of mouth. This is the first time OAS has run this sort of promotion, said Rovira, adding that it was the result of a marketer's clever idea and weak loan demand in recent years.
According to its March 2014 call report, OAS has $93.8 million in loans on the books, about two-thirds of which is concentrated in mortgage lending. It has earned $115,000 so far this year, and made nearly $469,000 in 2013.
Other CUs Getting In The Game
OAS isn't the only CU to get in on the World Cup excitement. PAHO/WHO FCU, also based in Washington, is running a similar loan promotion, offering qualified members loans of up to 35% of their gross annual income.
More is available for members who borrow with additional collateral or a cosigner. Priced at 5.5%, PAHO/WHO is promoting the loan as an opportunity to experience the World Cup for as little as $250 per month. An $8,277 loan at 5.5% would translate to $250 per month over a 36-month term.
Representatives from PAHO/WHO were not available to provide comment to Credit Union Journal for this story.
OAS FCU's Rovira said she was surprised that more credit unions don't run promotions tied to the World Cup, but noted that whenever there are games "we have a TV here and we watch the games, because we are fanatics."
Those who take out World Cup loans won't likely find themselves with much extra money left over. In addition to paying for the cost of travel to Brazil and lodging during the tournament, there is the cost of game tickets.
A
So who's going to win? Rovira said that she shares the opinion of much of the OAS membership.
"I think Brazil is going to win—but Spain is a favorite, too."
The tournament starts on June 12 with Brazil v Croatia. The championship game is scheduled for July 13.
