Nassau Educators credit union expands membership range

The Nassau Educators Federal Credit Union says it has expanded its membership range to include more Long Islanders and is planning to increase its marketing efforts toward small businesses.

Westbury-based NEFCU, which has operated for more than 70 years and has almost 150,000 members with several branches across Nassau County, was granted a community charter about two months ago. The charter allows the credit union to open up its membership to all those who live, work, worship or conduct business in Nassau and Suffolk counties, executives said. The goal, they added, is to provide the benefits of a credit union - such as higher yields and lower loan rates and fees - to the wider Long Island community.

Membership previously was restricted to educators and professionals like doctors, lawyers, dentists and accountants, including their support staffs and families.

"We want to help people . . . get through the difficult times," said Edward Paternostro, NEFCU president and chief executive. "As a credit union we go a little further than other financial institutions."

Since expanding its membership field, the credit union has seen its mortgage sector double in volume and its consumer loans, primarily auto loans, triple in volume, NEFCU officials said.

"We see a lot of people refinancing loans that didn't have the opportunity before," Paternostro said. "Also, we're seeing a lot of auto loans. Because of the low rates, auto dealers are coming to us to provide these rates."

For the past three years, NEFCU, which has about $1.5 billion in assets, has offered small-business services, including administering Small Business Administration loans and financing commercial loans and lines of credit, said Eileen Nolan, senior vice president of marketing and community relations. While many major institutions have drastically cut back on financing small businesses, it's an area where NEFCU is "very competitive," Paternostro emphasized.

"The credit union is a not-for-profit organization," Nolan said. "We are not beholden to shareholders. We gauge our success on member return on assets, so we give back on excellent loan rates, deposit rates and excellent service."