President's Message

Mission and Vision

Mission

The Institution's mission is to offer financial services to the people, promoting the habit of saving and the prudent use of credit through educational programs that strengthen the philosophy and contribute to the quality of life of our people.

Vision

The Vision is to provide financial services that allow members and their families to continuously improve their quality of life and thus strengthen the economy of our people. This, within values of mutual aid, responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity.

History

The Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito de Isabela was founded in 1953 by a group of public servants, agricultural agency workers and leaders who collaborated with Agricultural Extension. There was a need for a credit union to solve the community's money affairs, since at that time there was no bank in Isabela. On August 3, 1953, the group of 43 people present constituted an Assembly and elected the first Board of Directors, a Credit Committee and a Supervisory Committee. A campaign to attract new members began. By November of that year, loans of up to $50.00 were offered.

In 1954, the first Education Committee was created. During the first years, the growth of members was slow due to the small population, economic recession, little economic movement of the town and the absence of manufacturing promotion. In 1956 the Cooperative joined the Federación de Cooperativas de P.R. to obtain economic security and a line of credit. In 1958 an accounting service was created and in 1963 a Scholarship Committee was established for students with good grade point averages. In 1964 the interest on deposits was increased in order to attract more members. From 1966 to 1975, the Credit Union had a remarkable growth due to the establishment of factories, urbanization (increase in infrastructure) and the population increase of the town. There was an increase in the number of members, dividends were capitalized in shares, and the "Christmas Club" account was created with 1% interest. There were changes in the workweek to 40 hours, the federal minimum wage and salary increased for employees. Mortgage loans began to be granted for home improvements and loans for the purchase of household goods.

The year 1971 was very fruitful and there were achievements such as: the expansion of the facilities, new equipment, loan insurance, increases in interest on certificates of deposit and an increase of more than 100% in financial income over the previous year. The Credit Union had its official seal of approval and was recognized as one of the 50 most progressive Credit Unions on the Island. Services and mechanized systems were improved. The Credit Union became a member of the Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples, and offered its personnel health insurance and a Christmas bonus. In addition, during this year, the Credit Union was ranked #7 out of the 420 Credit Unions on the Island by the Administración de Fomento Cooperativo (Cooperative Development Administration). The audit report was very favorable. The position of Credit Union Promoter was created and the residency requirement was eliminated in order to accept people from other towns as members.

At that time, since the Credit Union had more than 2,000 members, by obligation it had to be sub-divided into districts, so the members were distributed in 5 districts. By 1981, the Credit Union had its own headquarters, the Edificio Plaza Cooperativa, where it is currently located. Since then it has had greater economic and social development. By 1984, it was the first Credit Union to offer a credit card service (CREDI-COOP).

From 2000 to the present, the Credit Union has maintained a remarkable consistent growth, reaching total assets of $360 million and offering a greater diversity of financial products. Currently the Credit Union has reached a membership of 47,000 active members and has two branches, the Luis B. Ortiz Ramirez Branch located in Bo. Arenales Bajos and the Aguadilla Branch located in the Aguadilla Shopping Center, with the purpose of maintaining a more agile and effective financial service to our members and to continue attracting prospects to expand the membership of our great family.

Cooperativism

What is a Credit Union?

A credit union is an autonomous association of persons voluntarily grouped together to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise. Credit unions are created for economic and social needs and operate on a not-for-profit basis. Their governance is established on a democratic basis, each member can become a director. Savings are returned to members on the basis of each member's patronage. Indeed, the identity of the cooperative system is based on principles and values. Cooperativism is the implementation of the values of equality, justice, mutual aid, self-help, honesty, social responsibility, democracy, constructiveness, sacrifice and solidarity. The most important thing in the cooperative organization is the human being (our members).

What is Cooperativism?

Cooperativism is a socio-economic doctrine that promotes the organization of people to jointly satisfy their needs. Cooperativism is present in all countries of the world. It offers the opportunity to human beings of scarce resources to have a company of their own, together with other people. Cooperativism is governed by values and principles based on the participation of the common human being, assuming a leading role in the socio-economic processes in the society in which we live, is the main strength of the cooperativist doctrine.

Principles of Cooperativism

Cooperative principles are norms or guidelines by which cooperatives put their values into practice.

First Principle:

Open and voluntary membership

Second Principle:

Democratic Control by the Members

Third Principle:

Economic Participation of the Members

Fourth Principle:

Autonomy and Independence

Fifth Principle:

Education, Training and Information

Sixth Principle:

Cooperation between Cooperatives

Seventh Principle:

Social Responsibility

Cooperative Values

Equality, Justice, Mutual Aid, Self-Effort, Economic and Social Emancipation. These ideas are manifested in different ways depending on the economic, political and cultural conditions of cooperatives in each part of the world. In addition, certain Basic Ethical Standards such as Honesty, Social Responsibility, Pluralism, Democracy and Constructiveness are part of the "cooperative culture". These characterize the relationships among members, as well as the relationship of the cooperative with its enrollment of members, other cooperatives and the community. Cooperatives should visualize themselves as organizations based on the following characteristics:

• Economic activity aimed at satisfying the needs of human beings
• Participative democracy
• Social and ethical responsibility
• Development of human resources
• Collaboration among cooperatives at the regional, national and international levels
  

Mortgage Loan Originators (MLOs)

Cooperative

Main Office​

Isabela Branch

Aguadilla Branch

Board of Directors

Disclosures

Privacy Policy

PDF • 1.59 MB

Title VI

PDF • 1.6 MB

Audited Financial Statements

Estados Financieros 2023-2022

PDF • 1.4 MB

Financial Statements 2022-2021

PDF • 5.4 MB

Financial Statements 2021-2020

PDF • 4.8 MB

Financial Statements 2020-2019

PDF • 4.6 MB

Financial Statements 2019-2018

PDF • 4.1 MB