Chicago, IL (January 30, 2010) Resident s of Chicago and its suburbs, who thus far could only take advantage of PSFCU services online, will soon be able to open accounts and apply for loans in local branches of the largest Polish financial institution in the US. The new branches, conveniently located in the Chicago suburbs of Mt. Prospect and Norridge, will officially open for business on January 30, 2010.
We have been serving the Polish-American community for 34 years,” said Ms. Agnieszka Poślednik, PSFCU Chief Operations Officer. “We started in Greenpoint, which was and continues to be the center of Polish life in New York. Growth was our Credit Union’s goal from day one and we opened new branches in all major Polish areas. After 11 years, we crossed the state boundary and started working in New Jersey. Since 2007, our ATMs have been available to pilgrims at American Czestochowa in Pennsylvania. Even though we began offering our online services to residents of all states in 2008, Illinois is in fact the fourth state where we provide direct services to the Polonia. I cordially invite you to the Grand Opening ceremony – we have prepared numerous attractions and excellent food.”
Even though the main ceremony will take place at the Mount Prospect branch, located at 1044 Mt. Prospect Plaza, PSFCU will open both branches simultaneously – invited guests will be able to see the cutting of the ribbon at the Norridge branch thanks to live UniaTV broadcast. The ceremony will be attended by leaders of the Chicago Polonia, representatives of Polish businesses, local clergy and diplomats. Mr. Michael Fryzel, representative of federal authorities supervising credit union operations also confirmed his attendance.
The opening of the two new branches has also a symbolic value. At a time when a majority of banks are in deep crisis and reduce their operations, closing numerous locations, the Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union continues an ambitious development program which has enabled us to reach over $1.2 billion in assets and gain 70 thousand members. The two new branches in the Chicago metropolitan area have increased our branch total to 14, 4 of which were opened during the past 2 years. Our Credit Union also operates a Mobile Branch, a specially equipped vehicle offering all financial products and services available in brick-and-mortar PSFCU branches.
Together with the Polish people in the Chicago area, we will build a successful future for the local community – I am certain that with the same rate of success as we have managed to achieve on the East Coast,” said Tomasz Bortnik, PSFCU Chairman of the Board of Directors. “Even though we offer all necessary financial services, carefully geared to the needs of our members, we are a credit union after all, and that is much more than just a bank. A bank’s operations, on the other hand, are geared towards generating maximum profit which is divided solely among its shareholders. Conversely, every Credit Union member is its full fledged owner who has the right to decide about its governing body, and its future, in direct elections. Earned profit is primarily assigned for the credit union’s strategic reserve, its further development and for support of Polish community organizations.”
Every year, approximately 180 Polish-American organizations receive assistance from our Credit Union on the East Coast. In 2009, PSFCU donations amounted to $435,000 and, together with the scholarship program funds and our marketing budget, a part of which serves to support Polish events, this amount exceeded one million dollars. It is worth mentioning that the PSFCU scholarship program is one of the most ambitious scholarship programs among all American credit unions. In 2009, 316 young people received scholarship from the PSFCU for the total amount of $350,000.
PSFCU scholarship was also granted to a student of DePaul University in Chicago, Ms. Dagmara Wiśnicki, who had opened a PSFCU account online. “Using PSFCU services will now be as easy as using the services of any other financial institution in Chicago,” Ms. Wiśnicki said. “After all, PSFCU has a very attractive offer which now is available to everyone, not only online users. Numerous people, not only students, have been calling for PSFCU to open its branches in Chicago and its suburbs. I hope that, thanks to our Credit Union’s presence in Chicago, the local Polonia will become more united. PSFCU’s operations will certainly stimulate the Polish community to become more active, just as it happened in other places where it opened its branches. Our Credit Union has an opportunity not only to unite us as an ethnic group, but also to provide us with solid financial foundations for our future development.”
About the PSFCU
Founded in 1976 by a group of Polish immigrants to help other ethnic Poles obtain mortgages, the Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union now has 14 branches in New York, New Jersey and Chicago, and an operations center in Fairfield, NJ. The 34-year-old credit union, with more than $1.3 billion in assets, serves more than 70,000 members of the Polish and Slavic communities throughout New York and New Jersey. The union, which is the largest ethnic credit union in the United States, also operates ATMs at the National Shrine at Doylestown, PA.