CDFI Helps Savers Choose How Their Funds Are Loaned

The top 25 banks in the US had total assets of $21.1 trillion at December 2024.   Number 25 was Ally Financial Inc. which is $192 billion in size.

The largest bank was JP Morgan Chase & Co. at $4.0 Trillion.

The largest credit union is Navy FCU which reported  $ 181 billion at year end. The total size of  the cooperative credit unions was $2. 3 trillion.

The bottom line is that credit unions will never win by trying to be bigger than the many options consumers have.  Rather, they have to be better.

Using Their Local Advantage

Last week I presented an internal change in Vanguard’s fund management that gave their investors the option to vote their individual share ownership as they wish. This change empowers each share owner to chose a voting option rather than follow Vanguard’s traditional policy.

Could credit unions give their shareholders the opportunity to invest their savings in specific credit union loan programs?

Now, a CDFI bank has a program to do just that.  A March 25, 2025 Next City article reports how Sunrise Banks’ new net zero banking program lets customers put their money where their mouth is.

It started because one employee, Laura Wildenborg, had spent “spent 10 years taking kids on field trips to go rock climbing or cross-country skiing across the region, all to inspire children to love and care for the environment.”  She is an avid outdoor enthusiast and concerned about the environment.

She pivoted to banking after receiving her MBA in 2020.  She wanted to bring her prior interests to her new career.  This was her approach:

Wildenborg serves as a project leader for Sunrise Banks’ net zero banking initiative, which launched in July 2024. Net zero banking refers to the investment in projects that will reduce or eliminate carbon emissions.

Customers of the bank can opt in and allow their deposits to be loaned out only to net zero projects. Since launching its net zero program, Sunrise Banks has received $5.5 million in deposits and has loaned out nearly $22 million.

The  article gives several examples of customers being surprised to know they can choose how their deposits are used.

Wildenborg says one customer shared that he never thought about what the money in his bank account was used for.

 “With this program at Sunrise, we put that money where our values are, which means in the projects that will reduce carbon emissions — in turn having a positive impact on our community and environment.”

It’s Not the Size That Makes a Difference