Contacts:
Adelcio Lugo, Self-Help, 407-800-4300, adelcio.lugo@self-help.org
David Beck, Self-Help, 919-956-4495, david.beck@self-help.org
Micheline Savarin, Self-Help, 415-572-2433, msavarin@self-helpfcu.org

Apopka, FL – In order to expand member services, Apopka’s Community Trust Federal Credit Union (CTFCU) has merged with Self-Help Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Durham, NC. The merger went into effect on January 1, 2016.  CTFCU is now doing business as Self-Help Federal Credit Union.

CTFCU is headquartered in Apopka, only a few miles northwest of Orlando. It has $6.5 million assets and serves nearly 2,000 members. CTFCU’s board of directors unanimously selected Self-Help Federal Credit Union as its preferred merger partner.    

This is Self-Help’s first physical branch footprint in Florida, though it has long served low-income communities across the Sunshine State. Self-Help has helped originate over $300 million in loans to Floridians, partnering with Florida banks to finance over 2,900 home loans and providing financing to high-performing public schools in Miami and Gainesville educating nearly 20,000 low-income children. Several hundred Floridians are already members of Self-Help, with deposits of $6 million in total shares.

“Self-Help is an ideal merger partner for Community Trust. They are strong and successful with a host of financial services for all people, with special care for people of color and working families. As part of Self-Help we can not only provide good financial services, but be part of a movement to protect vulnerable people from predatory lending and build economic power in low-income communities,” said Sister Ann Kendrick, one of CTFCU’s founding members.

Self-Help Federal Credit Union, chartered in 2008, has $606 million in assets and serves 62,000 members with 20 branches in California and three in greater Chicago. It is part of the Self-Help family of nonprofit organizations that includes North Carolina’s Self-Help Credit Union, a national loan fund and the Center for Responsible Lending, a policy and advocacy organization addressing abusive lending practices. Since its 1980 founding, Self-Help has provided over $6.9 billion in financing to 112,000 families, individuals and businesses underserved by traditional financial institutions.

CTFCU was formed in 1982 to serve Florida’s farmworker community by a coalition of local organizations and activists, including the Apopka nuns (members of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur), the West Orange Farmworker Health Association (Community Health Centers), Homes in Partnership, the Farmworker Ministry, the Justice and Peace Office, and the Farmworker Association of Florida.

Self-Help co-founder and CEO Martin Eakes said, “We’re excited about the opportunity to continue Community Trust’s legacy of mission-driven service to low-income immigrant farmworkers and other working families, and to expand the credit union’s product offerings. CTFCU does important work and it’s an honor for Self-Help to build on its strong foundation in Florida.”

The merger, approved by the National Credit Union Administration, extends additional products and services to Community Trust members, such as mortgages and online and mobile banking. Self-Help offers a full range of financial products and services including personal, vehicle, and home loans, as well as a robust online, mobile, and audio banking system.

About Self-Help
Self-Help is a community development lender headquartered in Durham, NC. Founded in 1980, Self-Help has provided over $6.9 billion in financing to 112,000 families, individuals and businesses underserved by traditional financial institutions. It helps drive economic development and strengthen communities by financing hundreds of homebuyers each year, as well as nonprofits, child care centers, community health facilities, public charter schools, and residential and commercial real estate projects. Through its credit union network, Self-Help serves over 120,000 people in North Carolina, California, Chicago and Florida and offers a full range of financial products and services. Learn more at www.self-help.org  and www.self-helpfcu.org.