WASHINGTON—In what are likely his last remarks before CUNA’s GAC, NCUA board member Rick Metsger said bipartisan cooperation on the NCUA board has led to policies that will help credit unions position themselves to serve members however the economy might change.
“The financial soundness of credit unions, in aggregate, is stronger than ever before,” Metsger told attendees at CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference. “This, just 10 years after the financial crisis put the very survival of the credit union system into question. It has been quite a comeback. When another recession comes, credit unions are well-positioned to be there to help your members weather the change in the economic climate.”
The NCUA, Metsger, said, has played an important role during this period of recovery and subsequent growth. He noted the agency’s modernized regulatory framework, expansion of opportunities through new rules governing member-business lending and fields of membership, and internal restructuring for efficiency. He said the process of change itself has been important.
“What I am most proud of is that we have accomplished these changes, and many more, through a bipartisan—or, more accurately, non-partisan—consensus,” Metsger said. “In a capital known best for discord and tribal allegiance, NCUA has been the agency that works and gets the job done.”
Metsger paid particular attention to the recently announced $736-million Share Insurance distribution that credit unions should expect in the third quarter of this year, thanking CUNA for its support in the process that led to that distribution, the largest since the Share Insurance Fund was capitalized.
“The key driver behind all this was our decision to close the Corporate Stabilization Fund early and distribute its assets,” Metsger said. “Our decision has proven a wise one. Without that action, credit unions would be facing premium assessments of $1.3 billion. So, thank you to CUNA for your foresight and giving your credit unions $736 million to help your members on their savings and loan rates and to build better.
However, as CUToday.info has reported, a number of credit unions have stated that waiting a few years for a larger payout would be preferable, a position NAFCU has supported.
“I want to thank you all for your input and suggestions over the years,” said Metsger, whose term on the NCUA board has expired. “And since this will likely be my last GAC, I want to thank President Obama for asking me to come out East and join the NCUA board and later to designate me as agency Chairman. I also want to thank President Trump for allowing me to continue working with Chairman McWatters to make the credit union system stronger for working Americans.
“But you, my friends, are the true guardians of the gate to the financial hopes and aspirations of tens of millions of Americans,” he continued. “Till your fields carefully and sustainably. God bless you, and may you and your credit union live long and prosper.”