Credit Unions Win 24% of Secondary Capital Awards

Nearly a quarter of the $8.3 billion in secondary capital awards from the U.S. Treasury Department this year went to 69 credit unions from California to North Carolina.

The credit unions received $1.99 billion, while 93 banks and other lenders received $6.3 billion.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen on Wednesday announced that the Treasury Department made over $8.28 billion of investments in 162 community financial institutions through the Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP) the federal fiscal year ending Sept. 30. In December it announced that 186 institutions, including 85 credit unions, had been approved for $8.6 billion grants, but it did not show the amount of individual grants.

NCUA Chair Todd Harper said the ECIP program is providing participating Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) with “patient, long-term capital that will become a game changer to advance greater financial inclusion and economic opportunity.”

“The pandemic-induced recession hit communities of color and the poorest households the hardest. High inflation rates have also created new economic challenges for these families,” Harper said.

Forty-eight awards totaling $762 million went to credit union CDFIs, 16 awards worth $762 million went to credit unions that were both CDFIs and MDIs, and four awards worth $41.6 million went to credit unions that were MDIs only.

“Minority Depository Institutions and Community Development Financial Institutions are often the only insured depositories operating in rural areas, communities of color and other underserved places,” Harper said.

“Participating credit unions will leverage ECIP funds to lend in these areas to start small businesses, back eligible community development projects, and offer car and home loans,” he said. “Over time, the impact of these funds will grow exponentially as members pay back those initial loans with interest and the participating credit unions make new ones.”

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s ECIP grant funds can be held up to 30 years, but the NCUA’s current subordinated debt rule generally limits maturity levels to 20 years. To fix this maturity mismatch, the NCUA has proposed changing the rule to align its subordinated debt rule with the Treasury Department’s ECIP rule.

The largest credit union awards were to the sister institutions based in Durham, N.C., that are both CDFIs and MDIs: Self-Help Federal Credit Union was awarded $250 million, and Self-Help Credit Union was awarded $243 million.

On the other side of the country, Financial Partners Credit Union ($2.1 billion in assets), a CDFI based in Los Angeles County, received $35 million to support its 86,965 members, most of whom live in southern California.

“Financial Partners is committed to supporting financially underserved communities so they can not only recover from losses suffered during COVID-19, but so they can thrive and grow well beyond this extraordinary period,” President/CEO Nader Moghaddam said. “Through this investment, we will be able to make a significant impact in the lives of many who are typically overlooked by the banking industry.”

The other credit union awards listed by Treasury were:

• Suncoast Credit Union, Tampa, Fla., a CDFI, was awarded $175 million.
• ELGA Credit Union, Burton, Mich., a CDFI, was awarded $173 million.
• Workers Federal Credit Union, Littleton, Mass., a CDFI, was awarded $150 million.
• Orion Federal Credit Union, Memphis, Tenn., a CDFI, was awarded $105 million.
• Latino Community Credit Union, Durham, N.C., a CDFI and MDI, was awarded $99.4 million.
• Hope Federal Credit Union, Jackson, Miss., a CDFI and MDI, was awarded $92.6 million.
• REV Federal Credit Union, Summerville, S.C., a CDFI, was awarded $62.6 million.
• A.E.A. Federal Credit Union, Yuma, Ariz., a CDFI and MDI, was awarded $60 million.
• Local Government Federal Credit Union, Raleigh, N.C., a CDFI, was awarded $52.5 million.
• Five Star Credit Union, Dothan, Ala., a CDFI, was awarded $50 million.
• Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union, Seattle, a CDFI, was awarded $46.1 million.
• Orange County’s Credit Union, Santa Ana, Calif., a CDFI, was awarded $35 million.
• PrimeWay Federal Credit Union, Houston, a MDI, was awarded $28 million.
• Heritage Financial Credit Union, Middletown, N.Y., a CDFI, was awarded $25 million.
• Central Willamette Credit Union, Albany, Ore., a CDFI, was awarded $24.5 million.
• Lake Trust Credit Union, Brighton, Mich., a CDFI, was awarded $23 million.
• Freedom First Federal Credit Union, Roanoke, Va., a CDFI, was awarded $21 million.
• Clearwater Federal Credit Union, Missoula, Mont., a CDFI, was awarded $16.8 million.
• Industrial Credit Union of Whatcom County, Bellingham, Wash., a CDFI, was awarded $14 million.
• Carter Federal Credit Union, Springhill, La., a CDFI, was awarded $12.3 million.
• Community First Guam Federal Credit Union, Hagatna, Guam, a CDFI, was awarded $10 million.
• Peoples Advantage Federal Credit Union, Petersburg, Va., a CDFI, was awarded $10 million.
• Mid Oregon Federal Credit Union, Bend, Ore., a CDFI, was awarded $10 million.
• Tongass Federal Credit Union, Ketchikan, Alaska, a CDFI, was awarded $10 million.
• Bee Credit Union, Lacey, Wash., a CDFI, was awarded $10 million.
• Marine Federal Credit Union, Jacksonville, N.C., a CDFI, was awarded $9.7 million.
• Old West Federal Credit Union, John Day, Ore., a CDFI, was awarded $9 million.
• City Federal Credit Union, Amarillo, Texas, a MDI, was awarded $8.5 million.
• Leaders Credit Union, Jackson, Tenn., a CDFI, was awarded $7.5 million.
• ANECA Federal Credit Union, Shreveport, La., a CDFI, was awarded $7.4 million.
• The New Orleans Firemen’s Federal Credit Union, Metairie, La., a CDFI, was awarded $7 million.
• Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union, New York, N.Y., a CDFI and MDI, was awarded $7 million.
• SkyPoint Federal Credit Union, Germantown, Md., a CDFI, was awarded $7 million.
• Security Credit Union, Holly, Mich., a CDFI, was awarded $7 million.
• Alternatives Federal Credit Union, Ithaca, N.Y., a CDFI, was awarded $6 million.
• Texas Bay Credit Union, Houston, a CDFI, was awarded $5 million.
• Zeal Credit Union, Livonia, Mich., a CDFI, was awarded $5 million.
• Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union, Lakewood, N.Y., a CDFI, was awarded $4.9 million.
• Peninsula Community Federal Credit Union, Shelton, Wash., a CDFI, was awarded $4.9 million.
• Centric Federal Credit Union, West Monroe, La., a CDFI, was awarded $4.9 million.
• Lewis Clark Credit Union, Lewiston, Idaho, a CDFI, was awarded $4.9 million.
• Securityplus Federal Credit Union, Baltimore, Md., a MDI, was awarded $4.6 million.
• Kauai Federal Credit Union, Lihue, Hawaii, a CDFI and MDI, was awarded $4 million.
• Southwest Louisiana Credit Union, Lake Charles, La., a CDFI, was awarded $3.5 million.
• MERCO Credit Union, Merced, Calif., a CDFI, was awarded $3.5 million.
• Afena Federal Credit Union, Marion, IN, a CDFI, was awarded $2.8 million.
• Clarity Credit Union, Meridian, Idaho, a CDFI, was awarded $2.3 million.
• Genesee Co-op Federal Credit Union, Rochester, N.Y., a CDFI, was awarded $2 million.
• Northeast Community Federal Credit Union, San Francisco, a CDFI and MDI, was awarded $1.5 million.
• 1st Bergen Federal Credit Union, Hackensack, N.J., a CDFI, was awarded $1.3 million.
• Commodore Perry Federal Credit Union, Oak Harbor, Ohio, a CDFI, was awarded $1.3 million.
• Ironworkers USA Federal Credit Union, Portland, Ore., a CDFI, was awarded $1.3 million.
• Sisseton-Wahpeton Federal Credit Union, Agency Village, S.D., a CDFI and MDI, was awarded $1 million.
• Toledo Urban Federal Credit Union, Toledo, Ohio, a CDFI and MDI, was awarded $1 million.
• Holy Rosary Credit Union, Kansas City, Mo., a CDFI, was awarded $1 million.
• One Detroit Credit Union, Detroit, a CDFI and MDI, was awarded $922,000.
• DC Federal Credit Union, Washington, D.C., a CDFI and MDI, was awarded $922,000.
• Members Credit Union, Inc., Cos Cob, Conn., a CDFI, was awarded $690,000.
• South Texas Federal Credit Union, McAllen, Texas, a MDI, was awarded $500,000.
• Community Plus Federal Credit Union, Rantoul, Ill., a CDFI, was awarded $461,000.
• Arbuckle Federal Credit Union, Ada, Okla., a CDFI, was awarded $371,000.
• Hill District Federal Credit Union, Pittsburgh, Pa., a CDFI and MDI, was awarded $247,000.
• South Side Community Federal Credit Union, Chicago, a CDFI and MDI, was awarded $200,000.
• New Covenant Dominion Federal Credit Union, Bronx, N.Y., a CDFI and MDI, was awarded $148,000.
• Newrizons Federal Credit Union, Hoquiam, Wash., a CDFI, was awarded $100,000.
• Episcopal Community Federal Credit Union, Los Angeles, a CDFI and MDI, was awarded $38,000.