ACCION USA, a pioneer and leader in domestic microfinance, today announced a three-year, $1.2 million partnership with American International Group, Inc. (AIG) to educate immigrants in Boston, Miami, Atlanta and New York (via ACCION New York) about the importance of building credit in the United States, and to give them the tools to do so.

Without a credit history, immigrants face a multitude of challenges with everyday transactions such as leasing an apartment or signing up for a cellular phone plan, and often fall victim to predatory lending practices. To address this issue, ACCION USA and AIG will launch Build Your Credit, an annual, multilingual grassroots outreach campaign in the spring of 2008 designed to help immigrants improve their financial capacity. With a goal to reach over 30,000 individuals, the campaign will offer comprehensive credit education through workshops, community fairs, one-to-one counseling sessions and via the Web, as well as the opportunity to establish credit through ACCION USA's unique Credit Builder loan product -- a small, short-term loan beginning at $500 developed for individuals with no credit history. ACCION USA helps individuals to establish a credit history by reporting to the three credit bureaus upon repayment of Credit Builder loans.

"AIG's investment in ACCION USA's Build Your Credit Campaign reflects our commitment to help economically disadvantaged individuals and especially immigrants, in the United States achieve greater financial security." remarked Ned Cloonan, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for AIG.

Bill Burrus, president and CEO of ACCION USA, said, "For most low-income individuals the critical path to financial independence is blocked not only by a lack of access to credit but also by a lack of financial literacy. According to the National Endowment for Financial Education, financial literacy surveys of adults in the U.S. reveal that approximately 30% of those who lack basic financial literacy tend to be the poor, the young and minorities. We welcome AIG's partnership to make improved financial literacy a reality for thousands of immigrants who have been left out of the financial mainstream."