More than 17% of credit union members are Black, compared with around 13% of bank customers, CUNA shared in a CNBC article about racial justice in banking.
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) specialize in under-served communities. One CDFI, Hope Credit Union, has been processing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans throughout the COVID-19 disease pandemic.
“We get people in the banking system in a region that is one of the most underbanked in the nation,” Bill Bynum, CEO of Hope Credit Union, said in the article. “We help them access a number of tools, from credit building products to down-payment assistance for first time home-buyers.”
“All of our products and services are designed to benefit our members of color and to bring financial services to at-risk communities where many people are either un- or underbanked,” said Maureen Genna, chief executive officer of Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union.
The piece, which reached a potential 15+ million people, also directed readers to find a credit union using the Your Money Further credit union finder.