Department of Treasury, Washington, D.C. (Source: AdobeStock)
SkyPoint Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Germantown, Md., was selected this month to receive an infusion of cash in the amount of $7 million from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's new Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP). The money will allow the credit union to expand its lending portfolio to serve members and small businesses in low-income and underserved areas.
In a statement from SkyPoint ($201 million in assets, 13,686 members), the ECIP investment will help the credit union address the financial biases often found in the underbanked and underserved populations.
"We're very proud to be selected for this program that looks to address some of the long-standing inequities in our financial system," SkyPoint CEO Jim Norris said. "SkyPoint has always been focused on helping underserved communities, and this investment will give us a solid foundation to expand our services and help more people."
The ECIP was created out of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 to encourage low- and moderate-income community financial institutions to support small business and consumers in its communities. Through the program, the U.S. Treasury is providing $9 billion in capital to financial institutions across the country.
According to SkyPoint, officials are evaluating ways to expand its lending portfolio to benefit areas most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It's planning the addition of new business accounts and lending programs to launch this year.
Norris said, "We know with higher prices for almost everything, families can be worried about making big investments like a car or a home. And entrepreneurs may be nervous about starting or expanding their businesses."
He continued, "As part of the ECIP, we're well-positioned to give families and companies access to the capital they need, especially groups that historically were not able to easily receive funding."
The ECIP funds, according to SkyPoint, will also help the credit union adopt better financial inclusion efforts in the low-income and underserved areas of its field of membership.
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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.
