PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The figures aren't pretty: In the U.S., 12 million households have no relationship with a financial institution; nearly one in three African-Americans and one in four Latino households are unaffiliated with any depository institution. "To fill the void in accessible affordable financial services, financial service providers, including credit unions, have to make a commitment to bring their products, their services and their branches directly to the communities that need them most," said NCUA Board member Yolanda Townsend Wheat speaking to representatives of the Pittsburgh, Allegheny-Kiski Valley, Beaver Valley, McKeesport and Monongahela Valley chapters of the Pennsylvania Credit Union League. "The lack of access to financial services has resulted in an upsurge of predatory lending practices that often lure in the vulnerable, the naive, and the desperate and trap them in a spiral of debt from which it is almost impossible to escape," she added. Any credit union interested in identifying low-income and underserved communities which can be added to its field of membership can access the database NCUA is in the process of developing and which examiners will make available to credit unions along with information on the process for adding such groups to the field of membership. If American consumers are to have a real choice, they must be aware of the credit union difference and have access to a credit union and CU services, Wheat stressed. Wheat encouraged more credit unions to consider shared branching as a way for them to provide additional branch locations to reach a more mobile and expanding field of membership. She noted that shared branching may be CUs' solution for capitalizing on economies of scale, expand services and minimize costs associated with proprietary branches. She referred to shared branching as "The key to credit union cooperation and member convenience" and suggested that CUSOs might be the way to develop a shared branch network. "They will be the wave of the future for credit unions to come together and cooperatively develop service delivery systems," Wheat remarked. -
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