The Latino Community Credit Union is adding two branches and making its first foray into business loans.
As of March 28, the Durham nonprofit will offer "micro business loans" to entrepreneurs who want to start or expand a small business. The loans are capped at $5,000 for startup ventures and $10,000 for businesses that have been operating at least a year and ready to expand, said Alejandro Sanchez, director of organizational development.
The loans will come bundled with educational services to assist entrepreneurs, including a two-hour workshop on the basics of starting a business and one-on-one counseling from credit union staffers.
Many entrepreneurs have great ideas but falter because of poor execution, said Sanchez. The credit union's educational efforts are designed to counteract that.
The growth of the credit union makes the new loan program possible, while the state's record unemployment rate - 11.1 percent in January - heightens the need, said Sanchez.
"I think this is the perfect time to do it," said Sanchez, who noted that a good option for people who have lost their job is to create their own job by starting a business.
The new program comes at a time when the banking industry is being criticized for holding back the economy by being tight-fisted when it comes to extending credit to businesses.
The Latino Community Credit Union, which has eight branches across the state, is opening a branch in Carrboro on April 1 and another in Monroe, near Charlotte, on May 1, said CEO Luis Pastor.
"We have doubled in the last 18 months, from five to 10 branches," Pastor said. Other Triangle offices are in Durham, Raleigh and Garner.
The credit union has been prospering along with the Latino community it was created to serve, Pastor said. It serves 52,000 members statewide, and its net income totaled $915,034 last year, nearly double that of 2008, according to data filed with the National Credit Union Administration. Assets at the end of last year totaled $91.4 million, up from $65.1 million a year ago.
Pastor said the credit union eventually wants to offer larger business loans to its members.
"I don't know if it is going to take two years or 20 years, but we want to keep growing," he said.
The credit union recently purchased a 12,000-square-foot building for its headquarters and its flagship branch on Morgan Street in downtown Durham and moved there in January.
"This is a message we are here to stay," Pastor said.
