Why Clean Up P.O. Box Data?

The NCUA’s primary method for assessing whether a credit union member qualifies as low-income for LID attainment is by using the member’s address to determine if the member lives in a Low-Income Designated (LID) area (a county, census tract, census block group, or zip code). P.O. Boxes cannot be accurately geocoded, nor can they be used to assess the location of a residence. Members with P.O. Box addresses therefore are automatically not counted in the credit union’s low-income member percentage. If a member has an alternate address for a PO Box, then there is at least a chance this member can be counted towards a credit union’s LID percentage.

Suggested Approaches to Identify Physical Addresses for Members with P.O. Boxes

Identify alternative physical addresses in the credit union’s Core processor.

If the P.O. Box is listed as the “Primary Address” in the credit union’s Core processor, check to see if a physical address is available for the member. This could be in a field labeled “Residential Address,” “Home Address,” or something similar. If a physical address is available, include it instead of the P.O. Box in the AIRES file when either uploading to AnalyzeCU or filling in the LID Data Collection Template for a Custom LID Run.

Identify alternative physical addresses in the loan and member applications.

If there is no physical address in the credit union’s Core processor for a given member, check other documents and files such as loan and member applications. If a physical address is available, include it instead of the P.O. Box in the AIRES file when uploading to AnalyzeCU, or in the LID Data Collection Template for a Custom LID Run (separate consulting engagement).

Search credit reporting agency data for the member’s current physical address.

If no physical address exists for a given member in the credit union’s systems or files, it may be possible for the credit union to extract this information from credit reporting agency data. The three major credit reporting agencies (Transunion, Equifax, and Experian) all track residential addresses for individuals. The credit union will need to determine if there is a cost to pulling this data.

Support and Assistance

If you need help or have questions about using the LID Report within AnalyzeCU, please contact the Account Management team at AM@CUCollaborate.com or (202) 831-2500!

Updated on: 13/06/2024