News Topic: Under-served populations

In a letter to credit unions, NCUA urged federally chartered shops to expand their fields of membership to underserved areas, regardless of geography, in order to boost financial inclusion in the wake of the pandemic. ... Read full article

Challenger banks aimed at Blacks, Hispanics, immigrants and other underserved groups are offering financial education and support for charities in addition to basic banking services. ... Read full article

Financial disparities have only worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. President-elect Biden’s team could address this issue by establishing an office of economic equality under the Financial Stability Oversight Council. ... Read full article

People with scores below 500 are often in communities that suffer the most from economic hardship and violence. Banks and regulators can do more to qualify them for financing, ultimately creating healthier local economies. ... Read full article

More lenders and governments should partner with community development financial institutions to ensure aid reaches minority-owned businesses that are the backbone of many neighborhoods slammed by the coronavirus. ... Read full article

A group at George Washington University has been working to open a de novo institution to serve students, but the would-be institution faces a variety of hurdles before it can open its doors. ... Read full article

Jobs will be harder to find for graduates, and there are new underwriting platforms that can better predict students' future income in their chosen field. ... Read full article

Consumer savings are up, yet so are evictions. Banks need to reach out more to those who are struggling financially, and they could use data as a guide. ... Read full article

The Pittsburgh-based institution can now serve more than a dozen municipalities in the Keystone State. ... Read full article

The agency overreached in its proposal to revamp the Community Reinvestment Act when it should have simply required branchless banks to invest more in areas where deposits are taken. ... Read full article

Delaying a proposed benchmark for grading banks' performance in Community Reinvestment Act exams to appease critics of its initial proposal will make it harder to gauge the final rule’s impact. ... Read full article

Lawmakers’ attempt to stall the OCC’s final rule, preventing regulators from reforming a 1977 law meant to help underserved communities, does far greater harm than any changes that are raising objections, says the acting comptroller. ... Read full article

To help stop a cycle of systemic racism, bankers need to focus on advancing Black employees to leadership positions and create long-term relationships with Black-owned businesses. ... Read full article

Last year, credit unions surpassed 291 million members in 118 countries. ... Read full article

The Detroit company will provide grants over the next three years to promote homeownership and help small businesseses struggling to recover from the pandemic and civil unrest. ... Read full article

A trio of small credit unions designated as minority depository institutions have been matched with larger institutions to improve outreach to low-income and underserved consumers. ... Read full article

A New York CDFI is halfway to its $100 million fundraising goal for a fund that would put deposits in Black-owned banks and make loans to key businesses or projects. It hopes the moves will improve availability of capital and access to mainstream financial ... Read full article

A three-stage plan combining data analysis, public disclosure and market-based regulatory intervention would better align financial services with what consumers really need. ... Read full article