New York Expands Program to Support Access to Financial Services

The New York towns of Neversink and Denning have been approved as a Banking Development District (BDD), a designation that is meant to support access to affordable financial services.

The approval was announced Wednesday (Feb. 5) by New York State Superintendent of Financial Services Adrienne A. Harris, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) said in a press release.

Harris also announced the approval of Hudson Valley Credit Union (HVCU) in the hamlet of Grahamsville, Town of Neversink, as a participating BDD Branch, and HVCU’s Green Island branch as a BDD participating branch to serve the Green Island BDD, according to the release.

“BDD designations play a vital role in expanding financial access, encouraging savings and supporting credit building — empowering individuals and businesses in these areas to build a more secure financial future,” Harris said in the release.

New York State’s BDD program is a public-private collaboration that includes DFS, local communities and financial institutions, according to the release.

The program offers $10 million in subsidized public deposits and other benefits to support the establishment of bank and credit union branches in areas where there is a demonstrated need for banking services and the offering of affordable and accessible products and services, the release said.

The BDD branches in Grahamsville and Green Island have committed to providing free checking, small business loans, personal loans, affordable mortgages and financial education workshops within their respective communities, per the release.

HVCU’s Grahamsville branch brings to 58 the number of BDD designations made by New York State, according to the release.

“With the addition of Sullivan County to our field of membership and now these Banking Development Districts, we look forward to sharing HVCU’s cooperative philosophy by keeping community dollars within the community, so that we can all grow and thrive,” HVCU President and CEO Jonathan Roberts said in the release.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reported in November that the percentage of households in the United States that are unbanked declined to a record low in 2023.

The FDIC found that 4.2% of U.S. households were unbanked, meaning they were without a bank or credit union account, and 14.2% of households were underbanked, meaning they had a bank or credit union account but primarily used nonbank products and services.