Committee Passes Bill To Expand CUReach

WASHINGTON - (03/17/05) -- The House Financial ServicesCommittee overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday that would allowcredit unions to provide check cashing and wire transfer servicesto non-members within their fields of membership. Rep. SpencerBachus, R-Ala., a key advocate of the bill, said the measure willexpand these services to as many as 10 million Americans, most ofthem immigrants "who today have to rely on high-cost check cashingor remittance services." The provision would bring many of theseso-called unbanked into the financial mainstream by alsoencouraging them to establish a credit union account, said Bachus.The bill will now go to the full House for a vote.