Raimondo proclaims Credit Union Day

GOV. GINA M. RAIMONDO with Paul Gentile, president and CEO of the Cooperative Credit Union Association.
GOV. GINA M. RAIMONDO with Paul Gentile, president and CEO of the Cooperative Credit Union Association.

PROVIDENCE – Gov. Gina M. Raimondo has proclaimed Jan. 14 as “Credit Union Day” to mark and celebrate 100 years of credit union services in the state.
Credit union leaders and state officials gathered at the Statehouse to mark the occasion. State officials included Raimondo, Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed and Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy, D-Hopkinton, according to a Jan. 15 press release.
“The heart and soul of Rhode Island are middle class families and the way to keep middle class families secure is to have them employed,” Raimondo said in the release. “But it’s also for them to have safe, reliable banking partners and that’s what credit unions provide.”
The governor pointed out that many people today are taken advantage of by payday loans, credit cards and unaffordable loans, but credit unions are important because they are willing to take time with individual clients and do responsible underwriting, according to the release.
In recognition of the 100 years of credit union service in the state, Paul Gentile – Cooperative Credit Union Association president – said the credit unions are offering the kind of low-cost, high-quality services consumers need to improve their financial lives in the Ocean State.
“Rhode Island credit unions now serve 33 percent of the population and that percentage will grow as more consumers wake up to the power of the cooperative model that credit unions provide,” Gentile said. “As cooperatives, credit unions only exist to serve the needs of their member owners. There are no shareholders to please so the interest of the member is always paramount.”
There are 21 credit unions with 67 branches throughout the state serving more than 347,000 residents, according to the press release.

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