Newsroom

NCUA's Office of Consumer Protection yesterday approved a charter for Stepping Stones FCU, a community-based credit union in Wilmington, Del., with a field of membership of about 72,700 people.

Stepping Stones FCU is sponsored by the Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council Inc. and has NCUA's "low-income" designation. A credit union qualifies for this designation if a majority of members earn 80 percent or less than the median family income for its metropolitan area.

Low-income-designated credit unions may accept non-member deposits, participate in the Community Development Revolving Loan Program, offer secondary capital accounts and qualify for exemptions from aggregate loan limits for member business loans, NCUA points out.

Stepping Stones FCU plans to open this month, NCUA said, and will initially offer regular share accounts, club accounts and share certificates. It also plans to offer personal loans, including signature, used auto and share-secured loans, within the first 12 months of operation. Planned future services include share drafts and travelers checks.

This natural person federal credit union is the first chartered in 2011 and the first approved by NCUA's Office of Consumer Protection. (NCUA last year moved the charter approval process to the OCP's consumer access division from the regional offices.) The Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives will work with this newly chartered, small credit union as it grows, said NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz.