U.S. Capitol building. (Image: Shutterstock).
Nearly one month after it was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Expanding Financial Access for Underserved Communities Act passed the House on Wednesday afternoon and will move on to lawmakers in the Senate for consideration.
The bill, fully supported by CUNA and NAFCU, could become one of the most substantial updates since 1998 to the Federal Credit Union Act by allowing all federal credit unions to include underserved areas to their field of membership – adding areas not within 10 miles of a branch to the definition of an underserved area.
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In addition to the expanded Field of Membership, the bill would also exempt business loans made in underserved areas from the member business lending cap.
CUNA President/CEO praised the passage of the bill, introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). "This bill will let credit unions do more of what they do best: Promote financial well-being and advance the communities they serve. Thanks to the members who supported this legislation, and we look forward to continued work to keep this much-needed update to the Federal Credit Union Act moving forward," Nussle said.
In a letter filed Tuesday to leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives, ahead of the vote, NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler wrote, "Many credit unions want to do more to help underserved areas as banks abandon them and passing this provision to help credit unions fill the void would be a commonsense first step."
According to research done by CUNA, more than 7,800 bank branches closed between January 2005 and March 2021, leading to more than 750 census tracts being labeled as "financial deserts." During that same time period, according to CUNA, "credit unions opened more than 1,400 net credit union branches."
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
