The Latino Community Credit Union has received the Southern Growth Policies Board's 2010 Innovator award in recognition of its efforts to improve economic opportunities and quality of life in North Carolina with its affordable and accessible financial services and education targeted to the growing Latino and other unbanked communities.

This award will be presented to LCCU at the Southern Growth’s 2010 Chairman’s Conference on June 7-8 in Lexington, Kentucky.

The Southern Growth Policies Board, a non-partisan public policy think tank based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and formed by the region's governors in 1971, selected LCCU from a competitive pool of applicants as an outstanding initiative that helps communities recover from the economic downturn in an innovative way. According to Luis Pastor, President and CEO, “we get to know our members well and develop affordable products and services that meet their specific needs. Also, our comprehensive financial literacy program has been key to helping our members integrate into the U.S. financial mainstream and build wealth for themselves and their families.  Finally, creative partnerships have helped us grow quickly to meet the increasing demand for our services.”

LCCU continues to search for innovative ways to meet the needs of the growing Latino and other unbanked communities. In 2010, LCCU will expand its package of products and services and will roll out additional services for micro entrepreneurs, new types of personal loans, and additional classes to complement their financial literacy curriculum. All of these strategies to better serve the community have also been recognized by the Treasury Department. On February 3, 2010, the Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner invited LCCU, along with several other Community Development Financial Institutions, to a meeting where he proposed the possibility of providing low cost funds to CDFIs to strengthen their capital base to facilitate much needed lending to local communities

LCCU is being recognized as a leader in the field and a strong example of how providing financial services to unbanked and underbanked communities can be an effective way to strengthen communities as well as a legitimate and sustainable business model.