GreenState CU to Invest $1 Billion by 2030 to Close Racial Homeownership Gap
The credit union will double its initial investment amount of $500 million, which it announced in 2021.
The North Liberty, Iowa-based GreenState Credit Union’s board of directors voted to approve a $1 billion investment goal over the next decade to help close the state’s racial homeownership gap.
In 2021, GreenState announced it would invest $500 million toward these efforts. According to Thursday’s announcement, the credit union had already witnessed success with the program in its first year that officials decided to raise the bar by doubling the investment goal.
GreenState CEO Jeff Disterhoft said, “Since the launch of our Community Investment work last year, we have already seen incredible progress, with home loans to Black GreenState members growing to $68 million in 2021, up 60% from $42 million in 2020. As GreenState continues to grow and expand across the Midwest, we are raising the bar for ourselves and setting a new goal of $1 billion in home loans to people of color across all the communities we serve.”
The $1 billion investment will focus across GreenState’s entire field of membership, with a goal of investing the entire amount by 2030 “to expand access to homeownership for people of color” throughout the Midwest.
In a statement, GreenState Board of Directors Chair Fred Mims said, “I’m incredibly proud of our organization for our strong success in the first year of our Community Investment initiative. Homeownership is a key piece of the American Dream for so many families, and GreenState Credit Union wants to ensure that dream is accessible to all members of the communities we serve. To be sure, we will continue to lend to members of all races and financial backgrounds. While we continue our focus on creating value for all GreenState members, we recognize that as Iowa’s largest credit union, we have a special responsibility to address racial inequities head on.”
According to the report “Race in the Heartland” conducted in 2019 by the University of Iowa and Iowa Policy Project, white Iowans own homes at nearly three times the rate of Black Iowans. This disparity is considered one of the biggest racial homeownership gaps in the country, as Iowa ranks 45th with homeownership rates of 58% white and 20% Black, according to the report.
GreenState ($9 billion in assets, 338,048 members) officials said the new $1 billion goal will include its field of membership, which includes Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Illinois.
“This investment will continue to feature targeted mortgage lending with opportunities for members to receive assistance with closing costs, down payments and other support for qualifying members in communities with a history of underinvestment,” the statement read.