Bill Bynum, CEO of Hope Credit Union, was named the recipient of the 2014 Ned Gramlich Award for Responsible Finance.

The award was named for the former Federal Reserve Governor Ned Gramlich, who served as the Board of Governors' primary liaison to the Fed's Consumer Advisory Council, advising on community development and consumer finance policy matters, according to the Opportunity Finance Network, the alliance of community development financial institutions that recognized Bynum.

The network cited Hope for providing $2 billion in financing in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee and for helping more than 500,000 residents of those areas improve their lives.

The OFN said, “[Bynum's] inspiring career dedicated to advancing economic opportunity for disenfranchised, underserved and poverty-constrained communities. He is receiving the award for his lifelong efforts to fight inequity through serving – and providing a voice to – 'riskier' populations.”

Bynum said he is deeply humbled to receive the Gramlich award and dedicated it to the many talented people that he has been privileged to work with, learn from, and serve over the past 30 years.

“Every day at HOPE, we strive to realize Ned Gramlich's vision of responsible finance for our members,” Bynum said. “I'm grateful to be part of a movement that is committed to ensuring economic justice for people and communities where there is a dire need for financial inclusion and equality.”

The NCUA chartered the $182 million Hope in Jackson, Miss., in 1995 and Bynum has been its CEO the entire time. He also serves as CEO of the Hope Enterprise Corp., the credit union's chief sponsoring organization.

Bynum founded Hope at first, as a $1.5 million small business loan fund dedicated to helping underbanked and impoverished regions of America's mid-South, the OFN said.

Gramlich, who died in 2007, was an outspoken voice against predatory lending and a strong defender of the Community Reinvestment Act, according to the OFN. From October 2006 through his death in 2007, he served on the OFN's board.