Money Talk: Treasury Department looks to ease certification process for low-income credit unions
by January 25, 2016 4:22 am 148 views
Editor’s note: Each Monday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Money Talk,” a wrap-up of banking and financial news.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT LOOKS TO EASE CERTIFICATION PROCESS FOR LOW-INCOME CREDIT UNIONS: The National Credit Union Administration and the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund signed an agreement recently that will help streamline the application process for low-income credit unions to become certified as Community Development Financial Institutions.
Credit unions that obtain CDFI certification can access training and competitive award programs provided by the CDFI Fund to provide underserved communities with access to safe and affordable financial services. The goal of the initiative is to double the number of certified CDFI credit unions by the end of 2016. There are currently 295 credit unions certified as CDFIs.
GLOBAL ECONOMY STUCK IN ‘LOW GEAR,’ TO SEE MODERATE GROWTH IN 2016: The global economy is stuck in low gear and, as a result, global growth is expected to hover between 2.5% and 3% in 2016, according to a new analysis released by market intelligence firm IHS Inc.
The deceleration in long-term trend growth has been caused by two supply-side limitations: the big slowdown in labor-force growth (in some cases into negative territory) and a sharp falloff in productivity growth. Since 2007, demand-side constraints have also been a problem. The next year or two are likely to see a continuation of the trends witnessed since 2012, with developed economies doing a little better and most emerging markets continuing to struggle.
FTC PLANS EVENTS TO RAISE CONSUMER AWARENESS ON TAX SCAMS: The Federal Trade Commission will conduct a week of events Jan. 25-29 to raise consumer awareness about the threat posed by tax identity theft, a scam that puts thousands of people at risk every year. In addition to these events, the FTC has created a wide array of materials to help educate people about the growing issue. Read more here.