Northern Community Bank staff attended the 50th edition of Inclusiv’s Community Development Credit Union conference in New York. The four-day conference saw sessions from credit union leaders, policymakers, researchers and stakeholders in the financial sector to discuss ways to elevate communities and the people who live in them. Inclusiv is a US national trade body, with a mission is to help low- and moderate-income people and communities achieve financial independence through credit unions.
Throughout the conference representatives from Northern Community Bank engaged with attendees to discuss how credit unions in the UK serve account holders with ethical savings and affordable loans, to share experience and identify ways to improve the service we provide. In the opening ceremony Inclusiv CEO Cathie Mahon welcomed the 850 attendees, mentioning the importance of partnership with credit unions from around the world including those from the UK credit union movement.
Northern Community Bank staff had the opportunity to visit the Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union. Staff from the credit union, which has served Brooklyn and Queens since 2001, gave our staff a tour of the neighbourhood, then welcomed them into a branch to discuss the challenges faced and successes the credit union has achieved. Northern Community Bank’s Chief Operating Officer Tia highlighted the similarities between the communities both credit unions serve
It was impressive to see how Brooklyn Credit Union work for their members in some of New York City’s most economically challenged communities. There were parallels with the communities Northern Community Bank has traditionally served in Lancashire and Cumbria over the past 42 years, in which many residents have few options when it comes to accessible and affordable savings and loan accounts. To see a credit union grow from $300,000 in its first year to $50million assets in 2024 was inspirational.
Over the four-day conference the team participated in many sessions including building an equitable and resilient cooperative future, how to serve underserved communities, breaking down barriers through Fintech, green lending and responding to the climate changes. Northern Community Bank Compliance Manager Magda stated how valuable attending the conference had been
Northern Community Bank is currently working on establishing their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) impact framework. Inclusiv Conference 50 provided deep insights into Green Lending, working with financially excluded people, ecological and social impact of the credit union sector. Networking with industry professionals was invaluable, and I gained practical strategies to enhance our compliance programmes. Overall, the conference was a perfect blend of learning and professional growth.
Members of our team had the opportunity to meet Mexican Ambassador, Ricardo Santana Velázquez, the head of the Mexican consulate in Oxnard, California to discuss how credit unions could work with various organisations from the community to break down barriers and help the underbanked and underserved. Northern Community Bank CEO Kathryn expressed how interesting it was to find out about the joint projects in the community
Ambassador Santana Velázquez shared his experience of working for the consult for 43 years, explaining the important work credit unions do in financial education and providing a safe place to safe or borrow. It was really interesting to hear how joined up thinking from different organisations can make a positive impact in the community.
The team from Northern Community Bank then visited The Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union. The credit union was started by neighbourhood activists in 1986 to fill the void left by the closing of the last bank branch in the neighbourhood. Our team were given a tour of the branch by the Chief Operations and Finance Officers, whilst the history of the credit union was explained. Northern Community Bank’s Chief Marketing Officer David expressed how inspirational it was to visit the credit union that had served more than 90,000 families in neighbourhoods such as Lower East Side, Harlem, Staten Island, and Jackson Heights
I was fortunate to attend the 2018 Inclusiv conference when the Lower East Side CEO Linda Levy was presented with the Annie Vamper Helping Hands Award, the highest honour presented by Inclusiv, after 30 years of service to the credit union. It was a privilege to tour the branch, located in the former Manufacturers Hanover Bank which was the last to close in neighbourhood in 1984, to hear about the prominent role the Lower East Credit Union has had in fighting for a community that was desert by virtually all institutes in the 1980’s.
The team also joined delegates from the conference to tour the New York Federal Reserve, which holds the biggest reserve of gold in the world. Representatives from New York Fed explained their mission to make the economy stronger and the financial system more stable for all segments of society, whilst discussing the place sectors like credit unions had to play.
Inclusiv members serve over 18 million residents of low-income urban, rural and reservation-based communities across the US and hold over $255 billion in community-controlled assets. Northern Community Bank CEO Kathryn emphasised the benefits of the UK’s continued partnership with credit unions in the Inclusiv network
The 2024 Inclusiv conference was an amazing, inspirational experience. The sessions and credit union branch visits highlighted that Northern Community Bank face the same challenges as many of the Community Development Credit Unions in the US. To share our practices and experiences with each other strengthens our commitment to serve low and moderate income members of our communities in an inclusive and respectful way. In the same way as Northern Community Bank, US credit unions celebrates the great successes they have in helping their communities while adhering to the co-operative principles. To hear that 1/3 Americans are part of a cooperative is a real motivation to continue to raise awareness about the services Northern Community Bank can offer to more and more people in our community
