For Details, Contact:
External Affairs
email: pacamail@ncua.gov
Fax: (703) 518-6409

NCUA to Host Access Across America Economic Empowerment Summits in Nashville, Tennessee September 20 and Dallas, Texas October 12

Alexandria, VA, July 21, 2005 – National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman JoAnn Johnson announced today that the agency will sponsor two Access Across America Economic Empowerment Summits at the Doubletree Hotel Nashville on September 20 and the Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas in Dallas on October 12. Registration opens at 8:00am and the programs will begin at 8:30am.

The free, one-day events will focus on federal resources available to credit unions. Credit unions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virgin Islands are invited to attend the Nashville summit. Credit unions in Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas are invited to attend the Dallas summit.

“NCUA is pleased to announce the next summits of 2005, which will bring together our public and private sector partners to discuss economic empowerment and financial self-sufficiency,” said NCUA Chairman Johnson. “Credit unions are instrumental in providing access to affordable financial services to the underserved and “unbanked” communities. We look forward to hosting this summit for credit union officials and volunteers.”

The purpose of the summits, which are designed for credit union officials, as well as board volunteers, is to enhance the abilities of credit unions to expand financial services to their members by partnering with other federal agencies and non-profit organizations.

Chairman Johnson continued, “There are a myriad of resourceful programs available to credit unions, however, they continue to go unnoticed. The hallmark of the summit is the innovative programs which allow credit unions to empower their members to achieve the American Dream of financial self-sufficiency.”

Key topics will include Member Business Lending, Health Savings Accounts, Identity Theft, Homeownership, Serving Emerging Markets and the Underserved, and Financial Education.

Participating agencies include the Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Treasury. Also presenting will be the Export-Import Bank of the United States, Small Business Administration, and the Federal Trade Commission.

Access Across America was established to promote and facilitate the extension of affordable financial services to individuals and communities Across America. Access Across America has partnered with federal agencies to develop opportunities to aid credit unions with the technical resources and finances needed to provide much needed services in underserved areas.
For more information or to register for the either summit, please see NCUA’s website at www.ncua.gov or e-mail AccessAcrossAmerica@ncua.gov.

Participants are responsible for their own hotel accommodations. Please contact the hotel directly:

Doubletree Hotel Nashville
315 4th Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37219-1693
(615) 244-8200

Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas
221 East Las Colinas Boulevard
Dallas (Irving), TX 75039
(972) 556-0729

The National Credit Union Administration, governed by a three-member board, is the independent federal agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, operates the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), insuring the savings of 82 million account holders in all federal credit unions and many state-chartered credit unions.