WASHINGTON—With November’s elections just 29 days away, CUNA continues to be involved in select races, and will be sending direct mail to CU member/voters on behalf of three candidates this week.
Trey Hawkins, CUNA’s director of political affairs and special projects, said the trade association is providing the backing to Illinois Democrat Cheri Bustos (seven mailings to 25,000 people), and Illinois Republican Rodney Davis (four mailings to 16,000 people), both of whom are seeking re-election to the House, and Iowa Democrat Bruce Braley (eight mailings to 60,000 people), who is running for a Senate seat.
CUNA said it has no independent expenditures to announce right now beyond the two it has already made: $300,000 on behalf of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and $150,000 in support of former Arrowhead Credit Union employee Pete Aguilar (D) in CA-31. “We’re not done yet,” said CUNA’s Richard Gose.
Separately, CUNA will be meeting on Wednesday with the CFPB as that agency looks into checking account screening practices. And as the revised NCUA proposal on risk-based capital gets closer to its release, the trade group’s Mary Dunn said concern remains that the regulatory burden remains high on the fixed assets portion of the proposal, and that the “relief” that agency has proposed only moves compliance from the beginning of the process to the end.
Moreover, she said CUNA also remains concerned that the risk-based capital component for well-capitalized CUs still has not been addressed.
In an interview with CUToday.info, NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz stated that the agency is “very comfortable in the way we have fashioned the rule, where there is a distinction between adequately capitalized and well capitalized. Whether we bring the 10.5% down somewhat . . . we are still discussing that.”