NCUA Access Across America Workshop to Focus on Home Ownership

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar recently announced that the agency is sponsoring an Access Across America workshop in San Francisco. The April 1 all-day workshop, featuring NCUA Board Member Deborah Matz and representatives from the California Credit Union League and the CU Association of the West, will focus on home ownership in underserved areas. Credit union leaders and volunteers are invited to attend a workshop concerning partnering with the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation and its NeighborWorksr Network. “Edward Filene brought credit unions to America in the 20th Century to fight usury and ensure people with limited incomes have a safe place to save and borrow. Nearly a hundred years later, some 56 million adults do not have access to reasonably priced financial services. This workshop is intended to help credit unions fill this void and make homeownership a reality,” Matz said. Dollar, who initiated the Access Across America effort, commented, “While credit unions have been a significant source of mortgage lending over the years, they are positioned to build on that impressive record by providing millions of additional Americans with access to attain the American Dream of homeownership.We are also pleased to join with Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation as a partner in sharing valuable information on resources available to credit unions which can help folks from all walks of life in their neighborhoods to become homeowners.” He also noted how the program fits in with President George W. Bush’s goal to increase minority homeownership.