Title: Expanding Financial Access for Underserved Communities Act
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Expanding Financial Access for Underserved Communities Act
This bill eases credit union membership requirements to allow more access for persons in underserved areas. A credit union must, however, submit a business and marketing plan to the National Credit Union Administration explaining the credit union's ability and intent to serve such population.
The bill also excludes loans made to members in underserved areas from certain credit union limits on member business loans.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7003 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7003

To amend the Federal Credit Union Act to permit credit unions to serve 
           certain underserved areas, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 8, 2022

 Ms. Waters (for herself and Mr. Perlmutter) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO 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 credit union's ability and intent 
        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 a Federal credit union's 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;
                    ``(B) a description of the types of financial 
                services utilized by members of the credit union who 
                are members by reason of the application; and
                    ``(C) an update of the credit union's 
                implementation of the business and marketing plan 
                described under paragraph (1).''.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS RELATED TO 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'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at the and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) the term `underserved area' means a geographic area 
        consisting of one or more population census tracts or one or 
        more counties, that encompass or are located within--
                    ``(A) an investment area, as defined under section 
                103(16) of the Community Development Banking and 
                Financial Institutions Act of 1994;
                    ``(B) groups of contiguous census tracts in which 
                at least 85 percent individually qualify as low-income 
                communities, as defined under section 45D(e) of the 
                Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
                    ``(C) an area that is more than ten miles, as 
                measured from each point along the area's perimeter, 
                from the nearest branch of a depository institution (as 
                defined under section 3 of the Federal Deposit 
                Insurance Act) or credit union.''.

SEC. 5. REPORT BY THE NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION.

    Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, but 
no sooner than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
National Credit Union Administration shall issue a report to the 
Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate on the 
implementation of the amendments made by this Act.
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