ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar announced that federal credit unions added approximately 16.1 million potential new credit union members in 2001through underserved and low-income additions. Dollar touted the record-breaking results as a direct result of the agency's streamlined application process. He vowed NCUA would continue its emphasis on facilitating credit union service to the underserved.

"I am extremely pleased to announce these unprecedented numbers as it further demonstrates that a safe and sound regulatory approach to serving these communities is possible through a streamlined process and not requiring another Washington-formulated regulation," Dollar said. He admitted there is still a lot of work to do though.

Data released by NCUA demonstrated that 165 federal credit unions adopted 282 communities with a total population of 16.1 million in 2001. This represents a 580% increase over 2000 when federal credit unions expanded into 50 underserved or low-income areas with a population of 2.3 million.