WASHINGTON–It isn’t just credit unions lobbying Congress this week on legislation now in conference committee that will decide whether banks gain access to military bases.
As CUToday.info reported here, both CUNA and NAFCU are pressing credit unions to turn up the pressure on the committee that is hammering out differences between the House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Senate version of the bill includes language giving banks access to military bases, and the House version does not.
In addition to credit unions, banks are also lobbying the same members of the conference committee.
Politico reported the Association of Military Banks of America is pressing Congress to ensure the provision is included in the final bill in order to halt the closures of banks on military bases. According to the AMBA, 40% of the bases that used to have a bank branch on them have closed those branches since 2004.
The American Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America have also sent a letter to Congress on the issue.
‘Extremely Selfish Approach’
“The credit unions are simply trying to protect themselves from competition, Steven Lepper, a retired Air Force major general who’s now president and chief executive of the Association of Military Banks of America, told Politico. “It’s an extremely selfish approach that they’re taking,” he added.’
In the same interview, Ryan Donovan, CUNA’s chief advocacy officer, said, “Do we really want Wells Fargo and Bank of America on every military base, and if we do, do we want them to be there rent free?”