Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, recently introduced the Expanding Financial Access for Underserved Communities Act (HR7003).
This legislation is intended to help credit unions—which are financial cooperatives—fulfill their mission and reduce the number of unbanked and underbanked people across the country. Specifically, the bill would:
- Allow all federal credit unions to add underserved areas to their field of membership
- Exempt business loans made by credit unions in low-income areas from the credit union member business lending cap.
- Expand the definition of a low-income credit union to include any area that is more than 10 miles from the nearest branch of a financial institution.
NCBA CLUSA invites your co-op or organization to sign on to a coalition letter to support this important legislation, and we encourage you to share this sign-on opportunity with your extended networks. You can read a copy of the draft letter here.
The letter will close on Monday, May 16 at noon EDT.
