Community Outreach, Community Reinvestment, and Credit Unions: Facts. Resources. Strategies

Posted by on November 23, 2009

Federation Offering Intensive Seminar for Credit Unions on Community Reinvestment

On December 3, 2009 the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation) will hold an intensive seminar to explore topics that have been controversial in the credit union movement: Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) initiatives to collect data on credit union outreach and service to underserved communities.

Seminar Information

What:    Community Outreach, Community Reinvestment, and Credit Unions: Facts. Resources. Strategies

When:    Thursday, December 3, 2009 – 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM ET

Where:   Hilton Crystal City at Washington Reagan National Airport
2399 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202

Cost:    $195 for Federation Members and Government Rate. $395 for Non-members and all others.

Register: http://www.cdcu.coop/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=1528.

The seminar will bring together an extensive line-up of legislative and regulatory staff, consumer advocates, economists, and credit unions that have pioneered exemplary community-outreach approaches.

“Our goal is to help credit unions stay ahead of the curve,” said Federation President/CEO Cliff Rosenthal.  “Legislation to extend CRA beyond banks to other financial institutions, including credit unions, has more than 50 co-sponsors and will be debated in Congress in 2010.  NCUA is also nearing completion of a year-long data collection initiative, so while the financial crisis has pushed these issues into the background in 2009, we think that will begin to change next year and we want credit unions to be prepared with the facts.”

The Federation has opposed mandatory CRA for credit unions in favor of voluntary initiatives, such as its Community Development Partners Program.  “We believe there is tremendous upside for credit unions to do more to serve the people neglected or abused by traditional banks.  Our seminar will present ‘best practices’ of credit unions like Pentagon Federal Credit Union and HarborOne Credit Union, which have been industry leaders.”

The seminar will include a point-counterpoint debate about CRA, moderated by Credit Union Times Editor-in-Chief Sarah Snell Cooke and featuring John Taylor, president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and CRA critic New York University Professor Lawrence White.  But Rosenthal emphasized that “the seminar is primarily an educational event, focusing on ‘facts, resources, and strategies’ that credit unions can utilize to adapt to a changing legislative and regulatory environment.”

Seminar topics range from “CRA 101,” which will examine existing federal and state regulations as well as proposed changes to the legislation; to discussion of NCUA’s data gathering efforts on credit union service to the underserved; to detailed analyses by CUNA and NAFCU economists on existing data about credit union demographics and service.  The Federation will also present a variety of tools it has co-developed to assess and expand credit union service to the underserved, as well as new certification standards to enhance the credit union brand and position in the mortgage marketplace.

For a legislative perspective on these issues, the featured speaker will be Bill Zavarello, staff to the House Financial Services Committee.  Credit union speakers include Frank Pollack (Pentagon FCU), Jim Blake (HarborOne CU), and Ed Jacob (North Side Community FCU).  Bill Hampel (CUNA) and Tun Wai (NAFCU) will discuss existing demographic and economic data on credit union services.  Regulators addressing the audience include Timothy Burniston (Federal Reserve Board), Gary Kohn (NCUA), and David Cotney (Massachusetts Division of Banks).

Registration for this seminar is limited, so interested participants are encouraged to register as soon as possible.  For a complete agenda and registration information, please go to: http://www.cdcu.coop/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=1528.

The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation) is a certified CDFI Intermediary representing more than 200 community development credit unions (CDCUs).  The Federation’s member CDCUs provide credit, savings, transaction services and financial education to more than 1 million residents of low-income urban and rural communities across the United States.  The Federation also represents 50 Community Development Partners, some of the nation’s largest credit unions with a special commitment to serving low-income communities.  Founded in 1974, the Federation is headquartered in Lower Manhattan with offices in Colorado Springs, CO; Madison, WI; San Francisco, CA; and Washington, DC.  The Federation offers a wide range of advocacy, educational, training, investment, marketing, and outreach programs to support and assist CDCUs.  For more information about the Federation and its programs, please visit: http://www.cdcu.coop.