Credit Union Modernization or Expansion?
In December 2022, over 200 credit union lobbyists descended on Charleston, South Carolina, to plot their advocacy strategy for the year ahead. Participants made clear that the credit union industry plans to continue paying lip service to serving low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities, while directing its efforts toward expanding into new affluent markets.
For-Profit Investors Take Note: Non-Profit Credit Unions are Ready to Borrow
To borrow from the great line purportedly uttered by late Sen. Everett Dirksen about spending in Washington – “a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money” – credit unions are taking huge advantage of their regulator’s relaxed position on the highly profitable not-for-profits by raising hundreds of millions of dollars a quarter from hedge funds and other for-profit investors in the form of subordinated debt.