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NEWS FROM CUNA: New Webinar Series Discusses Added Benefits from NCUA’s Expansion of Low Income Designations
Madison, Wis. (October 10, 2012) – A three-part webinar series will be jointly held by CUNA and the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions to explain the benefits of a Low Income Designation (LID) as well as other resources and opportunities available to Low Income Credit Unions.
There are still many misconceptions surrounding the LID. This webinar series (free to CUNA-affiliated credit unions and Federation members) is designed to inform credit unions about the benefits of these designations and how best to leverage them for their credit unions and members.
The low income designation represents a recognition to the work credit unions do to provide access to affordable credit and financial services to people of modest means and provides regulatory powers that help increase institutional capacity to meet the needs of millions of consumers that currently don’t have access to credit union services.
The topics of the three-part series include:
- Growth Opportunities: Benefits of Low Income Designation-October 16, 2012
- What are the Benefits of the CDFI Designation– November 20, 2012
- Fuel for Growth: Understanding & Planning for Supplemental Capital-December 18, 2012
The Federation has played a leading role in advocating for special regulatory powers to strengthen the capacity of credit unions to serve low- and moderate-income consumers. The Federation has also helped create public and private resources to expand credit union services in underserved communities, such as the CDFI Fund, which has provided more than $130 million in grant awards to qualifying credit unions; or the CDCI Program through which the US Treasury Department invested $70 million in secondary capital loans in 48 credit unions.
If every eligible credit union accepts their low-income designation, then low-income credit unions will have combined assets of $140 billion and provide affordable financial services to almost 17 million predominantly low-income consumers. Roughly a third of the credit union system might become low-income designated.
About the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions:
A national, nonprofit network based in New York City that since 1974 has supported and invested in credit unions with an explicit mission of serving predominantly low-income, financially underserved communities. Today, the federation works with 250 credit unions with combined assets of $14 billion and serving 2 million consumers, committed to providing access to quality financial services, affordable credit and development services to LMI markets that hold tremendous potential for the future and relevance of the credit unions system.
About CUNA:
With its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, Credit Union National Association (CUNA) serves 90 percent of America’s 7,200 state and federally chartered credit unions, which are owned by more than 95 million consumer members. Credit unions are not-for-profit cooperatives providing affordable financial services to people from all walks of life. For more information, visit www.cuna.org. For more information about credit unions, visit www.aSmarterChoice.org.