A credit union requesting designation, or a group requesting a charter, as a low-income credit union must submit a written request for a low-income designation to, and receive approval from, the superintendent. The credit union or group must provide documentation supporting that the majority of the members, or potential members in the case of a newly organized credit union, meet the low-income designation.
In determining whether a credit union is or will be, in the case of a newly organized credit union, serving a low-income membership, any one of the following methods may be used:
(1)
Loan survey. Based on a
100 percent survey of the loans, more than 50 percent of the credit union's
borrowers must qualify as low-income members.
(2)
Member survey. Based on
a 100 percent survey of the current members, more than 50 percent of the credit
union's members must qualify as low-income members.
(3)
Zip code analysis. Based
on a 100 percent survey of the zip code residence of all current members, more
than 50 percent of the credit union's current members must reside in defined
low-income zip codes, based on current U.S. Census Bureau's median household
income statistics.
(4)
Other methods. Any other method determined by the
superintendent which shows reasonable evidence that more than 50 percent of the
credit union's members, or potential members in the case of a newly chartered
credit union, qualify as low-income or live in areas where a majority of the
residents are low-income.
