Pennine Community Credit Union Participate in American Credit Union Conference

Friday 7 June 2024

Pennine Community Credit Union Participate in American Credit Union Conference

Pennine Community Credit Union (PCCU) 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

PCCU 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 staff a tour of the neighbourhood, then welcomed them into a branch to discuss the challenges faced and successes the credit union has achieved.

PCCU’s Chief Operating Officer, Tia Warbrick 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,” said Tia. “There were parallels with the communities PCCU 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.

PCCU Compliance Manager, Magda Niemczyk stated how valuable attending the conference had been. Magda said: “PCCU 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.”

The team from PCCU 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. The team were given a tour of the branch by the Chief Operations and Finance Officers, whilst the history of the credit union was explained. PCCU’s Chief Marketing Officer, David Harris 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. David said: “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.”

PCCU CEO, Kathryn Fogg emphasised the benefits of the GB’s continued partnership with credit unions in the Inclusiv network.

“The 2024 Inclusiv conference was an amazing, inspirational experience,” said Kathryn. “The sessions and credit union branch visits highlighted that PCCU 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 PCCU, US credit unions celebrate 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 PCCU can offer to more and more people in our community.”