Harper tells Congress: more needed for CDRLF

(June 4, 2021) An increase in appropriations in 2022 for NCUA’s Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF) was requested this week by agency Board Chairman Todd Harper in NCUA’s annual report to Congress on the fund’s 2020 activities.

Harper, however, sought no specific amount of dollar increases. However, in the report, he noted that the CDRLF was able to fund just about half of the $7.6 million in total requests for technical assistance grants and loans from low-income-designated credit unions last year,

To bolster his request, the NCUA chairman in the report noted that NCUA last year devoted nearly all of the fund’s efforts to help credit unions and their members meet the significant challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Because demand regularly exceeds the amount of available funds for these grants, and because low-income credit unions are more likely to serve communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, I urge Congress to increase appropriations for CDRLF grants in 2022,” Harper stated. “With more funding, the agency could increase the number of credit unions receiving grants and increase the size of the grants it makes, deepening the program’s impact in underserved communities.”

Congress created the CDRLF to stimulate economic development in low-income communities served by credit unions; all appropriations go to eligible credit unions. The fund is administered by the NCUA.

LINK:
NCUA: CDRLF Funds Have Positive Impact on Communities, Credit Unions