A “streamlined” application process is being phased out for credit unions eligible to be certified as a community development financial institution (CDFI), the federal credit union regulator said Thursday.
Instead, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) indicated, CDFI applications will be consolidated under one process under the Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
“The NCUA encourages eligible credit unions to explore CDFI certification, which makes them eligible for CDFI Fund training and competitive award programs to enhance their capacity to provide underserved communities with access to insured, affordable financial services,” the agency said in a release. It also noted that 461 federally insured credit unions are now certified as CDFIs.
In August of last year, the agency announced a streamlined qualification process for obtaining CDFI application. Under that program, low-income-designated credit unions registered in the NCUA’s CyberGrants system and completed an online participation form. The agency’s Office of Credit Union Resources and Expansion (CURE) reviewed each credit union’s products, services, and other indicators to determine whether the credit union qualified for the streamlined certification application.
Qualified credit unions were given the information they needed to complete and submit the streamlined certification application to the CDFI Fund, which made the final certification decisions.