11:10 ET Hope Credit Union to Merge with 1st Choice Credit Union

Partnership brings prominent community development financial institution to the Peach State , /PRNewswire/ -- Hope Credit Union has agreed to merge with 1st Choice Credit Union in Atlanta. Hope Credit Union, with its affiliates, Hope Enterprise Corporation and Hope Policy Institute (collectively known as HOPE), combine to form one of the nation's most impactful community development organizations and largest Black- and women-owned financial institutions. With approximately 8,600 members, $32 million in assets, and branches at Grady Hospital and in the historic Sweet Auburn Historic District, 1st Choice serves employees of the Grady Health System, and is affiliated with the Morehouse School of Medicine, Emory School of Medicine, Southside Health Care Inc., Atlanta Life Insurance Company, and South Fulton Community Development Corporation. "1st Choice was founded in 1946 as Hospital Authority Credit Union to improve the financial health of Grady Hospital employees, their families, and our neighboring communities," said Billy Wright, Chief Financial Officer at Grady Health System. "We look forward to partnering with Hope Credit Union to continue and expand this 79-year legacy." According to HOPE CEO Bill Bynum, "The foundation laid by 1st Choice, and being in Atlanta, presents exciting opportunities to expand our alliances with healthcare providers, HBCUs, and other anchor institutions that are vital to a community's wellbeing. This partnership will substantially advance our goal of catalyzing an ecosystem across the Deep South where everyday people have the resources they need to prosper." With the expansion, HOPE will have locations in urban and rural communities throughout the Deep South, including Atlanta, Birmingham, Little Rock, Jackson, Memphis, Montgomery, New Orleans, and across the Mississippi Delta and Alabama Black Belt. HOPE assumed management of 1st Choice in July and will work toward completing the merger this fall. About HOPEHOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation, Hope Credit Union and Hope Policy Institute) provides financial services; leverages resources; and engages in advocacy that strengthens the financial health of people in under-resourced communities in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Since 1994, these efforts have benefitted more than three million people across the Deep South, and influenced billions in investments for persistent poverty communities nationwide. Awards and recognition received by HOPE include: Annie E. Casey Foundation Family Counts National Honors Award, Annie Vamper Award, Aspen Institute John P. McNulty Prize, CDFI Excellence Award for Advocacy, CDFI Excellence Award for Community Impact, Episcopal Network for Economic Justice Gloria Brown Award, Ernst & Young/Kauffman Foundation National Supporter of Entrepreneurship Award, Heinz Award for the Economy, John W. Gardner Leadership Award, Myrlie & Medgar Evers Voices of Courage & Justice Award, NAACP Community Service Award, National Community Reinvestment Coalition James Leech Award, National Credit Union Foundation Herb Wegner Award, National Rural Assembly Rural Hero Award for Entrepreneurship and Investment, Ned Gramlich Award for Responsible Finance, and the Wall Street Journal Financial Inclusion Challenge. Learn more at www.hopecu.org. Media Contact:Ed Sivak[email protected](601) 672-2734 SOURCE Hope Enterprise Corporation