New Hope Credit Union Branch Expands Access to Financial Resources to Underserved Areas in Montgomery, Ala.

MONTGOMERY, AL – Hope Credit Union (HOPE) was joined by community partners, elected officials, credit union members and other supporters for a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday, June 21, for its new branch in Montgomery, Ala., which will expand access to financial services in Alabama’s capital city.  

The new branch, HOPE’s second in Alabama, is located in a former Regions Bank location, which was donated to the credit union, building on a longstanding partnership between the two financial institutions. The branch at 3421 McGehee Road will offer a full menu of financial tools to equip underserved individuals with checking and savings accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, small business loans and financial education. 

“This branch represents our commitment to financial inclusion in the Deep South. So many people and places in Alabama and throughout our region, have very high levels of unmet financial service needs,” said HOPE CEO Bill Bynum. “HOPE’s mission is to advance economic opportunity by closing these gaps and ensuring that everyone has access to the tools they need to succeed.”

HOPE member Eric Nettles was among those providing remarks at the ribbon-cutting. Nettles said HOPE helped him get out of a loan product from another institution with a high interest rate.

“HOPE showed me the difference a lower interest rate based on my excellent credit would make. I realized I was basically being robbed,” Nettles said. “HOPE helped me take control of my finances and by doing that, they’ve changed my life and the lives of my wife and our children.”

HOPE first expanded into Montgomery in November 2017 with a merger with Tri-Rivers Federal Credit Union. HOPE, a community development financial institution, has 31 service delivery locations across Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Its community and economic development work includes financing affordable housing developments, fresh food retailers, charter schools and New Markets Tax Credit projects.

This month, HOPE received the Housing Visionary Award from the National Housing Conference and featured in an NBC News report for its work to provide financial services in a banking desert in the Mississippi Delta.

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.