Montgomery’s Credit Union Bill Signed Into Law

Montgomery’s Credit Union Bill Signed Into Law 

State Senator Velmanette Montgomery (D-Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Red Hook, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Sunset Park, Gowanus, Park Slope) sponsored a Credit Union Bill (S727-A/A3320-Zebrowski) that was signed into law last week. Under this new law, credit unions can participate in the Banking Development District (BDD) program, making them eligible to receive up to $10 million in subsidized deposits from the state of New York to encourage lending in underserved communities.

“There are entire communities across our state where major banking institutions are nowhere to be found to provide financial services. This leaves residents, many of whom are already low income, to deal with operations that charge exorbitant fees and interest rates,” said Montgomery. “I believe in credit unions and I believe in the role they can play in making sure more New Yorkers have access to quality, local financial institutions that reinvest in communities.”

The BDD program was enacted to incentivize banks to locate branches in communities designated as underserved by the Department of Financial Services. Many of these areas have few to no banking institutions and instead have to rely on alternative, costly and sometimes predatory options to fill in the gaps.

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