The number of MDI credit unions grew in 2020, expanding membership and increasing lending, according to the NCUA’s eighth annual report to Congress on the composition and financial performance of MDIs supervised by the agency. In addition, shares and deposits were up, as were total assets.
According to the report, in 2020, the NCUA’s MDI preservation efforts included:
- approving field-of-membership expansions for 23 MDIs, allowing them to add 754 groups or geographic areas to their membership;
- providing 48 low-income-designated MDI credit unions with approximately $460,000 in technical assistance grants and 18 MDI credit unions with approximately $103,000 in urgent need grants;
- providing three MDI credit unions with $75,000 in grants under the agency’s mentoring program to help them obtain technical and other assistance from stronger, more experienced institutions;
- introducing the MDI Mentoring Cohort, which provided technical assistance and training to mentoring grant recipients; and
- hosting a two-day MDI forum for credit unions, which included several training and breakout sessions focused on the NCUA’s 2020 supervisory priorities, growth strategies, and the NCUA’s initiatives to support minority credit unions.
“Even though COVID-19 caused many trials for federally insured credit unions in 2020, minority depository institutions, as a whole, met these challenges head on and grew by meeting the needs of their members,” said Todd Harper, NCUA chairman. “MDIs serve an invaluable role in the nation’s system of cooperative credit, and the NCUA will continue to support the growth and sustainability of MDI credit unions so they can provide safe, equitable and affordable financial services in financial deserts and to underserved communities.”
The report can be accessed on the NCUA website.