RIVERSIDE, Calif.—In another sign of the improving economy, Altura Credit Union has re-opened a branch it had previously shuttered here, in one of the U.S. markets hit hardest by the recession.
The grand re-opening of the branch included an onsite broadcast by local radio station 99.1, entertainment for kids, food, and $100 Visa gift cards given away every hour. In addition, one lucky member will be going home with a brand new Audi A4. The 12 finalists in the drawing each won a $500 monthly drawing in 2014 during Altura’s “Better Ways to Win” debit card awareness campaign making them eligible for the big prize.
Altura closed the branch on University Ave. here in 2011 when the credit union and its members suffered through a sharply declining real estate market and job losses. The branch is the second that had been closed but is now reopened—in 2012, Altura CU reopened its Murrieta branch.
“We are very excited to return our University Avenue Branch to full operations for our members and University of California Riverside students,” said Mark Hawkins, Altura Credit Union CEO. “This move points to the continued rebound of the local Inland Empire economy.