Credit Unions Win 85 of 186 Treasury Capital Awards

Credit unions accounted for nearly half of all financial institutions receiving capital infusions through a Treasury Department program to support their work in low-income communities.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced Tuesday that 186 financial institutions, including 85 credit unions, had received a grant ranging from $100,000 to $200 million in the form of secondary capital under the Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP).

Congress created the ECIP in December 2020 to encourage low- and moderate-income community development financial institutions to provide backing to allow them to expand lending for small businesses and consumers in their communities.

The program is limited to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs). The $8.7 billion awarded includes $3.1 billion to 57 MDIs.

“We know that the communities hurt most by COVID-19 have often been communities of color, and Treasury has implemented relief legislation with equity in mind,” Yellen said.

The awards went to 186 financial institutions in 36 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

A news release from the Treasury Department said CDFIs and MDIs often make smaller loans and work with borrowers who might require more time-intensive and personalized technical support. “Treasury also expects that recipients will multiply the impact of ECIP by leveraging additional capital from private and philanthropic sources to further expand lending to their communities.”

Ninety credit unions had applied for $3.1 billion as of October. Inclusiv, which represents more than 400 CDFI credit unions and has been advocating for the program, estimated credit unions received more than $2 billion.

Inclusiv President/CEO Cathie Mahon said the New York-based organization will continue to help credit unions “leverage and deploy this capital to promote financial inclusion and equity.”

“This long-term investment in community development and minority designated credit unions will transform the scale and impact on low-income and historically excluded communities for generations to come,” Mahon said.

Luis Pastor, President/CEO of Latino Community Credit Union ($681 million in assets, 105,232 members as of Sept. 30) and appointed member of the CDFI advisory board, said the awards marked a historic moment.

“With this well-deserved transformational investment, we will be able to increase our lending and keep empowering our members to build wealth and pursue their dreams,” Pastor said.

Aissatou Barry-Fall, president/CEO of Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union of New York, N.Y. ($82.5 million in assets, 8,704 members), called the investment “a game changer for our credit union and the low income and minority communities we serve.”

“Historically, capital has been our biggest limitation to meet the needs of our community, and this secondary capital investment will help us expand our services and increase our lending to more business and consumers within our footprint,” she said.

The 85 credit unions awarded ECIP capital are in 31 states plus Washington, D.C., and Guam. They were:

1. 1st Bergen Federal Credit Union of Hackensack, N.J.
2. A. E. A. Federal Credit Union of Yuma, Ariz.
3. Advia Credit Union of Parchment, Mich.
4. Afena Federal Credit Union of Marion, Ind.
5. Alternatives Federal Credit Union of Ithaca, N.Y.
6. ANECA Federal Credit Union of Shreveport, La.
7. Arbuckle Federal Credit Union of Ada, Okla.
8. Carter Federal Credit Union of Springhill, La.
9. Central Willamette Credit Union of Albany, Ore.
10. Centric Federal Credit Union of West Monroe, La.
11. City Federal Credit Union of Amarillo, Texas
12. Clarity Credit Union of Meridian, Idaho
13. Clearwater Federal Credit Union of Missoula, Mont.
14. Commodore Perry Federal Credit Union of Oak Harbor, Ohio
15. Community First Guam Federal Credit Union of Hagatna, Guam
16. Community Plus Federal Credit Union of Rantoul, Ill.
17. Consolidated Federal Credit Union of Portland, Ore.
18. DC Federal Credit Union of Washington, D.C.
19. ELGA Credit Union of Burton, Mich.
20. Episcopal Community FCU of Los Angeles
21. Essential Federal Credit Union of Baton Rouge, La.
22. Financial Partners CU of Downey, Calif.
23. First American Credit Union of Casa Grande, Ariz.
24. Five Star Credit Union of Dothan, Ala.
25. Freedom First Credit Union of Roanoke, Va.
26. Genesee Co-op FCU of Rochester, N.Y.
27. Greylock Federal Credit Union of Pittsfield, Mass.
28. GTE Federal Credit Union of Tampa, Fla.
29. Heritage Financial Credit Union of Middletown, N.Y.
30. Hill District Federal Credit Union of Pittsburgh
31. Holy Rosary Credit Union of Kansas City, Mo.
32. Hope Federal Credit Union of Jackson, Miss.
33. Industrial Credit Union of Bellingham, Wash.
34. Ironworkers USA Federal Credit Union of Portland, Ore.
35. Kauai Government Employees Federal Credit Union of Lihue, Hawaii
36. Kerr County Federal Credit Union of Kerrville, Texas
37. Lake Trust Credit Union of Brighton, Mich.
38. Latino Community Credit Union of Durham, N.C.
39. Leaders Credit Union of Jackson, Tenn.
40. Lewis Clark Credit Union of Lewiston, Idaho
41. Local Government Federal Credit Union of Raleigh, N.C.
42. Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union of New York, N.Y.
43. Marine Federal Credit Union of Jacksonville, N.C.
44. Members Credit Union, Inc. of Cos Cob, Conn.
45. MERCO Credit Union of Merced, Calif.
46. Mid Oregon Federal Credit Union of Bend, Ore.
47. Neighbors Federal Credit Union of Baton Rouge, La.
48. New Covenant Dominion Federal Credit Union of Bronx, N.Y.
49. NEWRIZONS Federal Credit Union of Hoquiam, Wash.
50. Northeast Community Federal Credit Union of San Francisco
51. O Bee Credit Union of Lacey, Wash.
52. Old West Federal Credit Union of John Day, Ore.
53. One Detroit Credit Union of Detroit
54. Opportunities Credit Union of Winooski, Vt.
55. Orange County’s Credit Union of Santa Ana, Calif.
56. Orion Federal Credit Union of Memphis, Tenn.
57. Park Community Credit Union of Louisville, Ky.
58. Peninsula Community Federal Credit Union of Shelton, Wash.
59. Peoples Advantage Federal Credit Union of Petersburg, Va.
60. PrimeWay Federal Credit Union of Houston
61. Pyramid Federal Credit Union of Tucson, Ariz.
62. REV Federal Credit Union of Summerville, S.C.
63. River City Fed Credit Union of San Antonio
64. Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union of Seattle
65. Security Credit Union of Holly, Mich.
66. Securityplus Federal Credit Union of Baltimore, Md.
67. Self-Help Credit Union of Durham, N.C.
68. Self-Help Federal Credit Union of Durham, N.C.
69. Sisseton-Wahpeton Federal Credit Union of Agency Village, S.D.
70. SkyPoint Federal Credit Union of Germantown, Md.
71. South Side Community Federal Credit Union of Chicago
72. South Texas Federal Credit Union of McAllen, Texas
73. Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union of Lakewood, N.Y.
74. Southwest Louisiana Credit Union of Lake Charles, La.
75. Suncoast Credit Union of Tampa, Fla.
76. Texas Bay Credit Union of Houston
77. The New Orleans Firemen’s Federal Credit Union of Metairie, La.
78. Toledo Urban Federal Credit Union of Toledo, Ohio
79. Tongass Federal Credit Union of Ketchikan, Alaska
80. Trust Federal Credit Union of Chattanooga, Tenn.
81. USC Credit Union of Los Angeles
82. We Florida Financial Credit Union of Margate, Fla.
83. Winslow Santa Fe Credit Union of Winslow, Ariz.
84. Workers Federal Credit Union of Littleton, Mass.
85. Zeal Credit Union of Livonia, Mich.