HOPE Announces Partnership with Regions Bank to Open 2nd HOPE Branch in Alabama

JACKSON, MS – Hope Credit Union (HOPE), one of the nation’s leading community development financial institutions (CDFIs), held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house on Thursday, Sept. 13, for its first Alabama branch, and announced plans to partner with Regions Bank to open a second branch in early 2019.

The branch at 400 Arba St. in Montgomery, Ala., was the result of a merger between HOPE and Tri-Rivers Federal Credit Union. Regions has agreed to donate the bank’s former McGehee Road branch to help HOPE expand its presence in Montgomery, said HOPE CEO Bill Bynum.

HOPE’s expansion into Alabama allows the CDFI to broaden access to critical financial tools in underserved communities – work that won HOPE the 2018 Wall Street Journal Financial Inclusion Challenge. HOPE received the WSJ award, in part, for opening a cluster of branches in the Mississippi Delta, an expansion also made possible through a partnership with Regions.

“For 24 years, we’ve been working in opportunity deserts across the Deep South,” Bynum said. “These are places that lack adequate jobs, housing, nutritious food, healthcare and education. Access to robust, affordable and responsible financial services are vital to closing those gaps. We are excited to be expanding our presence in Alabama, and fortunate to have a partner in Regions Bank that recognizes the important role that HOPE plays in meeting the needs of underserved communities.”

HOPE now serves nearly 50,000 members from 31 locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. In addition to financial services, HOPE also works with community partners, public and private entities and local elected leaders to develop comprehensive community development strategies in the communities it serves.

About HOPE
HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation, Hope Credit Union and Hope Policy Institute) provides affordable financial services; leverages private, public and philanthropic resources; and engages in policy analysis to fulfill its mission of strengthening communities, building assets, and improving lives in economically distressed parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Since 1994, HOPE has generated over $2.5 billion in financing that has benefitted more than one million residents in one of the nation’s most impoverished regions.