Washington, DC -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund Director Donna J. Gambrell attended the opening celebration for Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union's first branch office located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday, May 17, 2008. U.S. Congresswoman Nydia M. VelÌÊzquez, U.S. Congressman Edolphus "Ed" Towns, New York State Assemblyman Darryl C. Towns, and New York City Council Member Letitia James also participated in the celebration.

"I am honored to be here in Brooklyn to see firsthand how the CDFI Fund's awards are helping to expand the capacity of financial institutions to provide critically needed financial services to underserved communities like Bedford-Stuyvesant," said Director Gambrell. "This branch opening is an important development for your neighborhood, and it exemplifies the mission of the CDFI Fund and the success of our award program."

Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union was awarded $393,998 through the 2007 round of the CDFI Fund's main monetary award program the CDFI Program. This financial and technical assistance award helped the credit union to open its first branch office and expand its lending activities, homeownership counseling, tax assistance to individuals and families, in addition to other financial services in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. Since 2001, Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union has received six financial and technical assistance awards from the CDFI Fund, totaling over $1.1 million.

The new branch office, located in Bedford-Stuyvesant, will be open five days a week and provide the area residents with easier access and opportunity to open checking and savings accounts, perform cash transactions, and originate loans. The new branch also allows ATM access 24 hours a day.

About the CDFI Fund

The CDFI Fund was created for the purpose of promoting economic and community development through investment in and assistance to community development financial institutions (CDFIs). The CDFI Fund's role in promoting community and economic development was expanded in FY 2001 when the Secretary of the Treasury delegated to the CDFI Fund the responsibility of administering the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program.

Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded $864 million to CDFIs, community development organizations and financial institutions through CDFI Program, the Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program, and the Native Initiatives. In addition, the CDFI Fund has allocated $16 billion in tax credit authority to community development entities (CDEs) through the NMTC Program