WASHINGTON–CUNA has sent three different letters to congressional committees holding hearings this week on issues of interest to credit unions.
The letters sent include:
- To the House Energy & Commerce Committee, which held a hearing yesterday on Protecting Consumer Privacy in the Era of Big Data: “Safeguarding consumers’ money and personal information is the bedrock of the financial services industry,” CUNA said: Credit unions have a long history of protecting information and are subject to numerous requirements, unlike others that use or maintain consumer information.” CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle wrote to members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to detail the damage to credit unions and their members from data breaches. CUNA is calling on Congress to work with the Administration and financial services industry to address consumer data privacy in a meaningful way and further improve upon the Gram-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).
Letter on Diversity
- To the House Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, which is holding a hearing today titled “An Overview of Diversity Trends in the Financial Services Industry,” CUNA said that it and its members are committed to ensuring that diversity and inclusion continue to play a meaningful role throughout every aspect of the credit union financial services sector. “Presently, credit unions lead the way in gender diversity with 52% of all credit union CEOs being women,” CUNA said. “In addition, more than 10% of all credit unions are minority depository institutions. That’s 3.5 times the number of minority depository institution banks in the United States. CUNA and their credit union members are committed to increasing Diversity and Inclusion at leadership, board and staff levels to continue to reach and better serve an increasingly diverse population.”
Letter on CDFIs
- To the House Appropriations FSGG Subcommittee, which held a hearing on Tuesday titled, “Leveraging Private Capital for Underserved Communities and Individuals: A Look into Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs),” CUNA said it sent its letter for the record ahead of the hearing on CDFIs. “CDFIs such as some Community Development Credit Unions (CDCUs) are charged with supplying low-income, distressed communities with traditional banking services such as savings accounts and personal loans, and offering individuals the tools needed to become self-sufficient stakeholders in their own future,” CUNA’s Nussle wrote. “The CDFI Fund uses small amounts of federal dollars to leverage significant amounts of private and non-federal dollars, and has added a tremendous boost to the CDFI industry (which relies heavily upon private sector funds from corporations, individuals, religious institutions, and private foundations).” In the letter, Nussle provided examples of how credit unions in Missouri and Tennessee are using funds from the CDFI to grow local economies and serve the most economically distressed communities in the nation.