WASHINGTON—Ahead of the Senate Banking Committee nomination hearing that happened to be held on International Credit Union Day for NCUA board nominee Tonya Otsuka, who would replace current Board Member Rodney Hood, both NAFCU and CUNA sent the committee an outline of key credit union issues they want to see considered.
In the letter, NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger and CUNA President and CEO Jim Nussle stressed that “[m]aintaining a separate, independent federal credit union regulator and insurer is critically important to the credit union system.”
‘Intense Pressure’
“It is critical that the Committee understand the immense pressure credit unions—large and small—are under in terms of compliance and operational challenges,” Berger and Nussle wrote. “This is evident by the small ongoing consolidation within the industry. Similarly, the NCUA Board must appreciate the risks to the industry and take appropriate action to ensure its ongoing viability.
“Unlike other sectors of the financial services industry, credit unions embody the collaborative, people helping people philosophy,” the letter continues. “As such, we urge this Committee and the NCUA board to work with the credit union industry to pursue an approach, both legislatively and regulatorily, aimed at ensuring credit unions can continue to serve their millions of members across the country.”
Other Issues Addressed
In addition, Berger and Nussle detailed recommendations related to:
- Chartering and field of membership (FOM) reforms
- Consumer compliance examinations
- Third-party vendor authority
- Federal credit unions’ loan interest rate cap
- Extended examination cycles
- Central Liquidity Facility (CLF)
- Climate-related financial risk
- Digital assets and emerging technologies
- Minority depository institutions
- Coordination with other regulators
CUNA Recognized for Advocacy
Separately, APCO Worldwide has recognized CUNA as the top-rated association in Washington in the areas of “bipartisanship” and “member representation.”
The ratings are based on APCO’s TradeMarks Study that helps trade associations measure the extent to which policy leaders believe they are effective in achieving their policy goals.
“It’s an honor to be recognized for areas that we place in the center of our advocacy efforts: bringing our members’ voices directly to policymakers, and working across the aisle on credit union priorities,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle in a statement. “Our members need us moving credit union priorities forward regardless of which party is in charge. Everything we do is to serve our members, which is why we continue to focus on bringing credit unions a strong voice and presence in the nation’s capital.”
According to the association, the TradeMarks Study identifies 15 key characteristics that define association effectiveness in achieving advocacy priorities for its members. Fifty trade associations were assessed by more than 300 policy leaders which rated organizations on a TradeMarks Index (TMI)—APCO’s proprietary policy effectiveness score—a 0-100 scale.
‘Varied Set’
The study also revealed bringing a varied set of association members into policy conversation and with one unified voice is a way to identify and build key relationships, CUNA said, noting it was among seven other associations identified as top performers.
This is the second time CUNA has been recognized for its bipartisanship efforts.
Are You Being Gouged for Bank-Like Subscription Fees for Old News? Here’s a CU-Like Way to Fix That
The biggest, best and freshest news reporting in credit unions remains free! Each morning CUToday.info delivers its daily Fresh Today news update offering the latest headlines and breaking news right to your email, with the easy-to-read headlines format allowing you to click on the stories that interest you most in order to learn more. So, stop paying those bank-fee-like subscription prices from other so-called “news”” publications!
If you haven’t yet signed up for the new email solution on which CUToday.info has partnered with ResponseGenius, you can do so here. Signing up requires less than one minute of your time—and it’s free!
Please note that after signing up you may need to go to your Spam/Junk folder and mark the morning headlines email as safe. CUToday.info does not provide its list of readers and emails to outside parties, and we will not be contacting you to sell you an extended warranty or sending you any links so you may cash in on an inheritance you didn’t know was coming.
And did we mention it’s free?