ALEXANDRIA, Va.—NCUA's Office of Credit Union Resources and Expansion (CURE) has announced some changes to grant options through the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF) and upgrades to its Learning Management Service (LMS) and its priorities for the year. It also announced its priorities for the year during a webinar hosted by the agency.
CURE launched last year as part of NCUA's restructuring and is responsible for approving field-of-membership charter expansion requests, providing educational assistance for small credit unions, and managing the agency’s grant program, among other duties.
Credit unions can begin applying for grants through the CDRLF June 2. During the webinar, CURE announced that new this year, NCUA will allow credit unions to apply for two funding initiatives if one of the initiatives includes underserved outreach; previously only one option could be chosen. The office also reminded credit unions that each year is evaluated independently, so if an institution received a grant last year that does not preclude it from receiving one in 2019.
The New Features
According to CURE, it is in the process of rolling out LMS upgrades. New features include:
- A small group training feature via WebEx (credit unions will need to register with an account on LMS using charter numbers)
- Upgraded interactive certificate courses
- A monthly CURE Vlog, which will start next month
- Dedicated sections for charters and minority depository institutions
- Discussion forums
- A live chat feature during normal business hours
NCUA Seeking Feedback
NCUA also expressed interest in knowing which courses credit unions would find helpful for training. The agency plans to offer training on Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) for credit union boards of directors later this year.
Charter modernization is among CURE's priorities this year, though the office noted it will be a long and lengthy process. It will also work on internal processes and priorities related to consumer access – including information on field of membership applications – modernized infrastructure using new technology, and being more efficient in its communications with credit unions and improving response times, NAFCU noted.