"Credit unions don't serve low- and moderate-income borrowers," he told a Portland newspaper. "They ought to quit saying that they do."

In a second quarter 2012 survey conducted by Aite Group, US consumers were asked what type of institution was their primary financial institution: large bank, community bank, or credit union. Of consumers who have a checking account, about one in five indicated a credit union was their primary financial institution.

Comparing the demographics of the three segments reveals that:

• 35% of CU members earn more than $60,000. In contrast, 42% of large bank customers, and 35% of community bank customers, earn more than $60,000. Three in 10 CU members earn less than $30,000, as do 32% of community bank, and 24% of large bank customers.
• Four in 10 CU members have a college degree or higher. Among large bank customers, that percentage is 51%, and among community bank customers, it's 43%. Only 22% of CU members have no more than a high school degree—the same percentage found among large bank and community bank customers.
• 10% of CU members are unemployed and looking for employment. That compares to 10% of community bank customers, and 8% of large bank customers.

But surveys don't always show the whole picture.

In 2014, a total of 127 low-income credit unions received $517,890 through the first Community Development Revolving Loan Fund grant round in 2014. NCUA's Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives administers the funds. Congress established the Revolving Loan Fund to provide grants and loans to credit unions serving low-income communities. Since 2001, NCUA has received more than $12.8 million in grant funding.

That money is going to communities such as Tuscaloosa, AL, where the Tuscaloosa Credit Union a low-income credit union looking to leverage its impact, partnered with the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority and applied for a 2014 CDFI Financial Assistance Grant of $1.65 million for secondary capital and loan loss reserves that will be used to fund 60 affordable home loans with THA, as well as 500 affordable used auto loans to lower-income consumers during a three-year period.

The $61 million Tuscaloosa Credit Union provides financial education which includes lessons in budgeting, financial planning, how to understand, evaluate and use credit, and how to take care of a home.

Marcee Blankenship OF Tuscaloosa lost her home in the 2011 tornado, and has been renting a small house with her four children since the storm. Paying her $500 a month rent isn't always easy.

"My credit union (TCU) has helped me with small loans for the past two years when I lost my job and I can't believe a bank would have helped me like that," she said. "I don't ask for a lot and I always pay it back. They help other people like me in bad situations and that is more than business, it's just being kind."

Another credit union serving the low-income community is Self-Help Credit Union which, since its founding in 1980 in Durham, N.C., it has lent almost $6 billion to 71,000 individuals and organizations. Its mission is to offer economic opportunities to minorities, women, people living in rural areas, and those with low incomes. The $674 million credit union has 35 branches in North Carolina, California and Chicago.

In 1994, the nonprofit started buying loans to provide liquidity to lend to low- and moderate-income mortgage borrowers in North Carolina. Its early accomplishment with local secondary markets earned Self-Help a $50 million grant from the Ford Foundation to help guarantee mortgages in a nationwide partnership with Fannie Mae. In return, the Ford Foundation stipulated that Self-Help's progress be carefully measured in the hopes of disproving Fannie Mae's and most banks' preconceptions that low-income homeownership was a risky proposition for banks to embark on. For the past 12 years, social scientists at the University of North Carolina have collected data and researched Self-Help-enabled mortgages and the families who live in those homes.

These findings contradict the Oregon study in that research shows that, even in the midst of the worst housing recession since the Great Depression, the families have managed to hold on to their homes. In fact, Self-Help, with fixed interest rate loans, free of refinancing penalties, has outperformed others offering subprime mortgages to much more affluent families. The default risk of Self-Help loans was three times lower than subprime loans made to similar borrowers between 2004 and 2008. Although the housing crisis has highlighted that homeownership does not guarantee rapid wealth building, Self-Help homeowners did accumulate more wealth than renters.

"We want to stand up in Washington and Sacramento and other state capitals that regulate the banking industry and do what we did with mortgages—advocate for more responsible policy from the position of experience," Steve Zuckerman, who served on Self-Help's board in a statement. Our efforts in California are not only helping hardworking families, but also building on that experience."