WASHINGTON—The Department of Defense has released its Report to the Senate Armed Services Committee and House Armed Services Committee on Access to Financial Institutions on Military Installations.
Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) President and CEO Anthony Hernandez called the report a win for credit unions.
“I am very pleased with the results of the study,” stated Hernandez. “First, DCUC has always maintained that no military member is deprived of access to financial services when banks choose to leave the installation. There is a defense credit union on each base and plenty of mobile banking alternatives.”
Hernandez pointed out that DCUC has always maintained that banks can and should use the regulatory process for obtaining in-kind consideration, “pursuant to section 2667 in Title 10.”
“This is a negotiation between the bank and the installation. The report reiterated this point,” he said. “The fact that banks are unwilling to open negotiations is very telling.”
The DCUC leader added that as the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act makes its way through Congress and on to the President’s desk, the Council will continue to assess the impact of the report on future banking lobby attempts to “reverse portions of the Federal Credit Union Act.”
“DCUC thanks our member credit unions and each of our fellow trade associations and system partners in getting us to this point,” said Hernandez. “This is a win for all credit unions!”