[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4879 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4879
To amend the Federal Credit Union Act to permit credit unions to serve
certain underserved areas, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 19, 2022
Mr. Padilla introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Credit Union Act to permit credit unions to serve
certain underserved areas, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding Financial Access for
Underserved Communities Act''.
SEC. 2. CREDIT UNION SERVICE TO UNDERSERVED AREAS.
Section 109 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1759) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (c)(2)--
(A) by striking ``the field of membership category
of which is described in subsection (b)(2),'';
(B) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as
follows:
``(A) the Board determines that the local
community, neighborhood, or rural district is an
underserved area; and''; and
(C) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``not later
than 2 years after having such underserved area added
to the credit union's charter,'' before ``the credit
union''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(h) Change of Field of Membership To Include Underserved Areas.--
``(1) In general.--If an existing Federal credit union
applies to the Board to alter or expand the field of membership
of the credit union to serve an underserved area, the credit
union shall submit a business and marketing plan with such
application that explains the ability and intent of the credit
union to serve the population of the underserved area through
the change in field of membership.
``(2) Report by credit union.--Not later than 2 years after
the date on which an application described under paragraph (1)
is approved, the credit union, as part of the ordinary course
of the examination cycle and supervision process, shall submit
a report to the Administration that includes--
``(A) an estimate of the number of members of the
credit union who are members by reason of the
application, including breakdowns by each State
(including the District of Columbia and each territory
of the United States), Tribal government entity, and
congressional district;
``(B) a description of the types of financial
services utilized by members of the credit union who
are members by reason of the application;
``(C) an update of the implementation of the credit
union of the business and marketing plan described
under paragraph (1); and
``(D) a description of the types of financial
education programs made available to members of the
credit union, including those who are members by reason
of the application and those in rural areas, where
applicable.''.
SEC. 3. MEMBER BUSINESS LENDING IN UNDERSERVED AREAS.
Section 107A(c)(1)(B) of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C.
1757a(c)(1)(B)) is amended--
(1) in clause (iv), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) in clause (v), by striking the period and inserting ``;
or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(vi) that is made to a member or
associated borrower that lives in or operates
in an underserved area.''.
SEC. 4. UNDERSERVED AREA DEFINED.
Section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a
period;
(2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(10) the term `underserved area' means a geographic area
consisting of 1 or more population census tracts or 1 or more
counties, that encompass or are located within--
``(A) an investment area, as defined in section
103(16) of the Community Development Banking and
Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C.
4702(16));
``(B) groups of contiguous census tracts in which
at least 85 percent individually qualify as low-income
communities, as defined in section 45D(e) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
``(C) an area that is more than 10 miles, as
measured from each point along the perimeter of the
area, from the nearest branch of a depository
institution, as defined in section 3 of the Federal
Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813) or credit
union.''.
SEC. 5. REPORTS BY THE NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION.
(a) Initial Report.--During the 1-year period beginning on the date
that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the National
Credit Union Administration shall submit to the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial
Services of the House of Representatives a report on the implementation
of the amendments made by this Act.
(b) Update.--On the date that is 5 years after the date on which
the report required under subsection (a) is submitted, the National
Credit Union Administration shall submit to the committees described
that subsection an updated report.
SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act may be
construed to prevent or otherwise impede the ability of insured
depository institutions, as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813) to establish branches and provide
banking services in underserved areas.
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