The Expanding Financial Access to Underserved Communities Act will enable credit unions to help communities in need, many of which banks have abandoned or shown little interest in serving. CUNA, AACUL, and all Leagues wrote in advance of the bill’s scheduled markup..

The House and Senate are both in Washington, D.C., this week. The House Financial Services Committee will mark up several CUNA-supported bills Tuesday, including the CUNA-League-supported Expanding Financial Access for Underserved Communities Act (H.R. 7003).

CUNA wrote to Congressional appropriations leaders in strong support of $50 million in funding for the USAID’s Cooperative Development Program for fiscal year 2023 and asked Congress to support USAID’s existing partners in Ukraine, particularly credit unions.

The House Financial Services Committee will mark up CUNA and League-supported legislation starting Tuesday. The bill, the Expanding Financial Access to Underserved Communities Act, was introduced in March by Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif.

NCUA and other federal financial regulators issued a joint rule finalizing significant changes to Flood Insurance Questions and Answers. The final rule—effective immediately—contains several CUNA-requested clarifications.

CUNA Senior Economist Dawit Kebede said housing shortage, increased demand for summer travel, and supply constraints due to the lockdown in China will make it difficult for prices to fall in the coming months.

CUNA’s cybersecurity webpage contains resources for credit unions—especially small credit unions—to help them prepare for threats presented by current geopolitical events. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency recently issued several alerts on increased cyberthreats because of the war in Ukraine.

The House passed the CUNA-supported Fair Hiring in Banking Act (H.R. 5911) Wednesday. The bill would replace the current ban on those interested in working in the banking sector with previous minor criminal records.

Three credit union supporters were successful in Tuesday’s primary elections in Nebraska and West Virginia. They were supported by the Nebraska Credit Union League and the Credit Union Legislative Action Council, CUNA’s federal political action committee.

Credit union loans outstanding increased 1.6% in March, compared to a 1.1% increase in February of 2022 and a 0.1% increase in March of 2021, according to CUNA’s latest Monthly Credit Union Estimates.