The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions is sponsoring a intensive seminar on the Community Reinvestment Act with credit unions reporting on their work with the underserved.
The seminar will include discussion of the potential for credit unions to have a CRA requirement, which the National Federation has long opposed, as well as NCUA initiatives to collect information on CU service to the underserved, the National Federation said.
"Our goal is to help credit unions stay ahead of the curve," said Federation CEO Cliff Rosenthal. "Legislation to extend CRA beyond banks to other financial institutions, including credit unions, has more than 50 co-sponsors and will be debated in Congress in 2010. NCUA is also nearing completion of a year-long data collection initiative, so while the financial crisis has pushed these issues into the background in 2009, we think that will begin to change next year and we want credit unions to be prepared with the facts."
The seminar will include a point-counterpoint debate about CRA, moderated by Credit Union Times Editor-in-Chief Sarah Snell Cooke and will feature John Taylor, president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and CRA critic New York University Professor Lawrence White. But Rosenthal emphasized that "the seminar is primarily an educational event, focusing on 'facts, resources, and strategies' that credit unions can utilize to adapt to a changing legislative and regulatory environment."
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