NCUA's first 2023 charter goes to social justice-focused credit union

The National Credit Union Administration has awarded its first federal charter and share insurance coverage of 2023 to For Members Only Federal Credit Union in Chicago.

The credit union's charter took effect on Feb. 3, with operations expected to fully commence before the end of 2023. Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, one of the oldest historically African American Greek letter organizations, backed the credit union's effort to receive a charter. The intercollegiate sorority was launched in 1908 on the campus of Howard University.

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"It's perfectly fitting that an organization whose members pledge to be of 'Service to All Mankind' has created a credit union. … This charter is also in keeping with AKA's current initiatives to assist members in building economic wealth, promote social justice and uplift communities, all of which are fundamental to the statutory mission of credit unions," said Todd Harper, chairman of the NCUA, in a press release on Thursday.  

For Members Only Federal Credit Union will offer access to financial services such as share accounts, online banking, personal loans and more to members of AKA, their families and employees of the organization.

The NCUA chartered four institutions in 2022: The Morning Star Federal Credit Union in Lame Deer, Montana, New York Episcopal Federal Credit Union in the Bronx, New York, People Trust Community Federal Credit Union in North Little Rock, Arkansas, and WeDevelopment Federal Credit Union in Kansas City, Missouri.

To boost the low number of new institutions in recent years, the agency has streamlined its chartering process through collaboration with its ACCESS initiative to remove redundancies and center the procedure around three core concepts: proof of concept, completing the application and final regulatory approval.