The Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund has seen an “unprecedented increase” in CDFI-certified credit unions, CDFI Fund Director Pravina Raghavan told Caucus attendees Wednesday, a trend she would like to see continue. The CDFI Fund makes capital grants, equity investments, and awards for technical assistance to CDFIs.
“Since December 2020 we’ve seen almost 50% increase [in CDFI credit unions]. That’s a lot in less than four years,” she said. “In 2020 there were roughly around 28% that received awards from our grant programs, in our most recent round it was over 38%.”
Credit unions are the largest segment of CDFIs, with 497 out of 1,428 certified CDFIs nationwide as of August 13.
Funding for the CDFI Fund comes through the annual appropriations process. America’s Credit Unions advocated for an increase to $500 million in FY25, up from this year’s $325 million.
“When you look at all the successful things the Fund has done in times of need, and now we’re still rebuilding these communities and it still continues to work,” Raghavan said. “When they’re looking for cuts, this should not make it to the cutting board because of all the important things it does.
Jeff Greene, executive assistant director for cybersecurity for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), also addressed Caucus Wednesday, and stressed the need for collaboration to address threats that are both rising in quantity and complexity.
“The financial services sector is often at the center of cyberthreats simply because it’s a lucrative target for criminal actors out there, which unfortunately includes some nation-states,” he said, adding that phishing, email compromises, and other social engineering-type attacks are responsible for the “vast majority” of cyberattacks.
“The bottom line is the threat environment is only getting more complex and also more geographically diverse,” Greene said. “Recognizing this, it is crucial we come together across sectors, with the government, private sector, and across countries to try and reduce this risk. Government doesn’t see everything, private sector doesn’t see everything, but collaborative efforts can help us make a big change.”
