House Financial Services Committee Advances FOM modernization bill
Posted: May 18, 2022 | Author:
Cornerstone League
The House Financial Services Committee advanced the Cornerstone/CUNA-supported Expanding Financial Access for Underserved Communities Act (H.R 7003) on a party-line 27–22 vote. The bill represents the most significant proposed update to the Federal Credit Union Act since 1998.
Specifically, H.R. 7003 would:
- Allow all federal credit unions to add underserved areas to their field of membership.
- Exempt business loans made by credit unions in underserved areas from the credit union member business lending cap.
- Expand the definition of an underserved area to include New Markets Tax Credit areas and any area that is more than ten miles from the nearest financial institution branch.
House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) introduced H.R. 7003 shortly after the 2022 CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference.
More than 750 census tracts are financial deserts, and a net 7,800+ bank branches closed between January 2005 and March 2021, according to CUNA research. Credit unions opened more than 1,400 net credit union branches over the same period.
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