Lourdes Cortez has been accepted into membership in Executive Women of NJ.
At Clifton Savings Bank’s new branch at 646 Van Houten Ave., from left: Sonya Micevski, Joanna Jablecki, Manager/VP Kathyryn Hochstaedt and Marta Witas.
Cortez of Elmwood Park began as an employee of a family-owned jewelry store when she was 14. Later, she would self-finance her undergraduate education at Montclair State University and her graduate studies by working a second job at a Board of Education. Over the past 25 years, she has worked her way up from teller to president and CEO of NJFCU.
Clifton Savings Bank re-built and re-opened its branch office at 646 Van Houten Ave. Throughout October, they are offering bonus CD rates and providing instant cash prizes as part of a Treasure Island Sweepstakes. Customers can get a $50 cash bonus when opening a Clifton Totally Free Checking Account with direct deposit, as well as free online banking, free Visa
On Sept. 16 at Provident Bank on Lexington Ave, from left, NJ Banking Director Terry McEwen, Provident’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel John Kuntz, DOBI Commissioner Neil Jasey, New Jersey Bankers Association Executive VP and COO James Meredith, Clifton Assistant Branch Manager Oylum Seker and Assemblyman Thomas Giblin’s Chief of Staff P. Justin Fahey.
debit card and free bill pay. The Treasure Island Sweepstakes features a first prize of $750 in cash, a second prize of $500 and a third prize of $250. In addition to its newest branch, Clifton Saving’s headquarters are at 1433 Van Houten Ave. Five other branches are in Clifton, two in Garfield, one in Wallington and another in Wayne. Clifton Savings was founded in1928. For more info, call 973-473-2200 or visit cliftonsavings.com. Provident Bank officials met with New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Neil N. Jasey on Sept. 16 to tour the bank’s newest branch at 562 Lexington Ave. and discuss job creation by the state’s chartered banks. Those banks and national lenders with operations in the state added 3,800 jobs from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009, as 38 branches opened up. However, the new banks contributed no more than 500 of the new jobs. New Jersey’s current unemployment rate is at 9.7 percent, 0.4 percent higher than the previous month. October 2009 • Clifton Merchant
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