NEW YORK — Three Puerto Rican financial cooperatives have joined the Federal Home Loan Bank System, giving the institutions access to a new source of liquidity that could be used to expand mortgage lending and homeownership opportunities on the island, according to Inclusiv.
Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito La Sagrada Familia, known as SagradaCoop; Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito de Camuy, or Camuy Cooperativa; and Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito de Lares y Región Central, or LarCoop, have been admitted to the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.
All three are members of Inclusiv, which has advocated for opening FHLBank membership to Puerto Rico’s cooperativas.
Inclusiv said the approvals represent an important change for a cooperative financial system that serves more than 1.2 million members in Puerto Rico but historically faced structural barriers that prevented its institutions from joining the FHLBank System.
“The approval of these initial cooperativa applicants to FHLBNY marks a monumental expansion that will allow cooperatives to access long-term capital to expand mortgage lending and make the dream of homeownership affordable to low- and moderate-income Puerto Rican families and households,” Inclusiv President and CEO Cathie Mahon said.
Access to New Liquidity Source
Membership gives the cooperativas access to liquidity and other financing tools available through the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.
Eddie W. Alicea-Sáez, CEO of SagradaCoop, called his institution’s acceptance a “transformative milestone” for both the cooperative and Puerto Rico’s broader cooperative movement.
“We are proud to pioneer this path, which will create new opportunities to expand access to fair and affordable financial solutions,” Alicea-Sáez said.
LarCoop President and CEO Carlos M. De Jesús Sánchez said FHLBank membership would strengthen the cooperativa’s ability to serve members by expanding its access to liquidity and financing.
Camuy Cooperativa CEO Michele Franqui Baquero similarly said the FHLBank’s tools and resources would allow it and other cooperativas to expand homeownership initiatives in their communities.
Years-Long Effort to Remove Barriers
Inclusiv said the development follows years of advocacy aimed at addressing differences between Puerto Rico’s cooperativas and federally insured credit unions that had prevented the cooperativas from qualifying for FHLBank membership.
Although cooperativas are publicly insured and regulated, their different regulatory and insurance structure created obstacles to participation in the system, according to Inclusiv.
In 2023, Inclusiv and more than 65 cooperativas pressed the Federal Housing Finance Agency to remove those barriers through comment letters and direct discussions with agency officials.
The effort produced a significant change in April 2024, when FHFA issued guidance establishing a pathway for eligible Puerto Rican cooperativas to obtain Federal Home Loan Bank membership.
That was followed by a memorandum of understanding between the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York and Puerto Rico’s Public Corporation for the Supervision and Insurance of Cooperatives, known as COSSEC, to implement the framework.
‘Strengthens Tools’
Mabel Jiménez-Miranda, executive president of COSSEC, said the admission of the three cooperativas demonstrates the strength and capacity of Puerto Rico’s cooperative financial institutions.
“This achievement strengthens the tools available to support housing finance, expand growth opportunities, and generate greater benefits for members and communities,” Jiménez-Miranda said.
Inclusiv said it worked with its cooperativa members, regulators and other organizations to establish the path to FHLBank membership and expects the expanded access to long-term capital to support additional mortgage lending in low- and moderate-income communities in Puerto Rico.
