Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke this week singled out the "uniquely important role" of credit unions and other Community Development Financial Institutions in fostering economic growth and development.
In a speech to the Global Literacy Summit on Wednesday, he praised their work in "offering a broad range of services and financing in low-and moderate-income communities."
He said the efforts of these organizations were successful in part because they are community based, in contrast to many earlier programs that he criticized for being "large-scale, top-down affairs."
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There are more than 1,000 certified CDFIs with $25 billion in assets.
Bernanke said when the economy gets stronger; some of these institutions may again have more success in tapping secondary markets as sources of funding and from socially motivated individual investors.
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