WASHINGTON–Carrie Hunt, chief advocacy officer with America’s Credit Unions, and Cathie Mahon, president and CEO of Inclusive, met with the associate director of the Office of Management and Budget, Mark Calabria, to discuss the status of the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.

As the CU Daily has been reporting, the fund has been targeted for all but closure by one of President Trump’s executive orders. Approximately 500 credit unions are CDFIs and more than $1 billion in CDFI grants have been distributed through credit unions.

CU Perspective Shared

According to America’s Credit Unions, Hunt and Mahon shared the credit union perspective with Calabria and outlined how the CDFI Fund’s leveraged capital aligns with the administration’s goals of increasing financial inclusion. 

The duo shared America’s Credit Unions’ data showing  all CDFIs generate $8 in private capital for every federal dollar of public funding, while every dollar awarded to a CDFI credit union results in $12 in community lending. 

Letter Sent to Hill

In an earlier letter to the House Financial Services Committee, America’s Credit Unions CEO Jim Nussle wrote, “The collaborative public-private partnerships fostered by the CDFI Fund are a critical element that merits careful consideration. By leveraging federal resources to stimulate significant private sector investment, the Fund plays a key role in revitalizing local economies. This strategy not only reduces the long-term financial strain on the federal government but also empowers local institutions to drive their own growth.”

Vice President Gives Credit Unions a Plug

Separately, while on a stop at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, offered a personal story about how the Marines kept him from making “one of the worst financial decisions” and instead pointed him in the direction of Navy Federal Credit Union

“I was going to buy a used Honda Civic at one of those used car dealerships, and the dealership was kind enough to offer me the low, low interest rate of 21% to buy that used car,”  Vance shared. “And it was a Marine Corps gunnery sergeant, Gunny Arledge, who said, ‘You know what? Why don’t you stop being an idiot? Go to Navy Federal Credit Union and get a better deal.’ And Gunny Arledge saved me from making a terrible mistake.”

America’s CUs Responds

In response to Vance’s story,  America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Jim Nussle said in a statement,  “Thank you, Vice President Vance, for recognizing the important role that credit unions play in so many people’s lives, and especially in those of our military men and women. Credit unions across the country serve more than 140 million Americans and are passionate about building their financial confidence and stability.  Their not-for-profit status allows them to offer those better rates, provide options to people who may not have strong credit, and be a trusted partner at life’s most critical moments. We look forward to continuing to share the credit union difference with the Trump Administration and working to ensure all Americans can experience what it means to be a credit union member, just like Vice President Vance.”