HispanicBusiness

DUBLIN, Ohio, June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin, the highest-ranking Latina in the Bush Administration, will visit the Ohio Credit Union Movement's Spanish-language financial literacy course Monday, June 23, in the Columbus suburb of Gahanna. Marin and Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Wayne Abernathy will formally salute Ohio credit unions' Latino Financial Literacy Program with an honorary certificate of recognition for its efforts to teach financial education to Central Ohio's Hispanic community.

Following the presentation of the certificate, Treasurer Marin and Assistant Secretary Abernathy will assist course instructor Ruben Nieto in teaching the Spanish-language class where students are learning about saving, managing money, setting financial goals, and handling credit. The class will be held at Shepherd Church of the Nazarene, 425 S. Hamilton Road, from 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.

Marin, the first foreign-born U.S. Treasurer, learned about the program through the Ohio Credit Union Foundation, which sponsors the free educational service along with Columbus-based credit unions OhioHealth, Telhio, and Western. The Ohio State University Extension Office is also a sponsor.

"We are very excited about the national interest that this program has generated and all the things we have accomplished," said Sue Helmreich, manager of outreach programs for the Ohio Credit Union League. "We hope other communities will develop their own financial education programs using this course as a model."

The four-session, four-week program was first offered in 2002 to help Central Ohio's growing Hispanic population become more informed about personal finance. In the pilot year, more than 225 individuals from 12 Latin American countries attended at least one of the classes, and 53 percent of them completed the course and graduated.

According to the U.S. Census, Ohio's Hispanic population grew 32 percent between 1990 and 2000, reaching 240,000. Representing the fastest growing ethnic population in the U.S., Hispanics have a combined purchasing power of more than $450 billion, according to the U.S. Treasury, yet research and surveys reveal that 43 percent report knowing little about retirement planning, and as many as 25 percent do not have a bank or credit union account.

"Credit unions know that education will make life better for these new residents," said Helmreich. "Some of the Spanish-language class participants can't speak English; some can't read or write any language. But the common bond is that they want to learn how to handle money in this country where they have come to make a better life for themselves and their families."

"Credit unions represent a movement which puts people above all else, and as such, it's our responsibility to help these new residents gain exposure to financial services," said Helmreich.

Many Central Ohio credit unions are also responding to the needs of the immigrant population by offering low-cost wire services so that members can send money back home to relatives and friends. The International Remittance Network, or IRNet, allows members to transfer money to non-bank outlets in 41 nations. The fee to send money by IRNet averages about $7 -- much less than fees and exchange rates charged by other money wire services.

The Ohio Credit Union League, with offices in Dublin, is a state trade association representing more than 500 credit unions. Credit unions are not-for-profit financial institutions owned and democratically controlled by their members. Ohio credit unions provide savings, loans, and other consumer financial services to their nearly 3 million members. To learn more, visit http://www.ohiocreditunions.org/. Ohio Credit Union League

CONTACT: Becky Hart, Director of Communications of Ohio Credit UnionLeague, +1-800-486-2917 or +1-614-336-2894

Web site: http://www.ohiocreditunions.org/