ARLINGTON, Va.–In addition to unveiling its 2020 priorities, NAFCU will also be tweaking some of its messaging to reflect some of the changes taking place as 2020 gets underway.
NAFCU has updated its six priorities for the new year after adjusting their order of importance in response to developments in Congress and the marketplace, according to the group.
Along with that, NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt said the trade association also looks for ways to change the way it conveys its message.
“That certainly does happen,” Hunt said, explaining NAFCU looks to “read the environment” as it adjusts its approach. Messaging every year also changes as NAFCU builds coalitions and seeks to communicate in ways that “reflect the various viewpoints.”
Meanwhile, the trade group also adjusts its annual priorities for many of the same reasons. “As we look to our priorities, we have a framework established by the board. The buckets are the same but the order of importance changes and so do the details,” said Hunt. “Growth is our number-one objective this year. We expect to put a lot of focus on ensuring a fair and open market. Our focus is on credit unions continuing to compete in the marketplace as they have.”
Given the escalated aggressiveness by the banking industry on credit unions during 2019, Hunt added, “We do expect to need more resources fighting meritless banker attacks.”
The 2020 Priorities
In a statement, NAFCU said its 2020 priorities include:
- Growth, including support for legislation and regulation that helps credit unions grow membership, loans and retained earnings.
- A Fair and Innovative Market. NAFCU said it will fight “meritless banker attacks, promoting innovation and establishing regulatory standards for fintech and data security.”
- Regulatory Relief. The group said it will continue to advocate for clear rules of the road and streamlining regulation that allows credit unions to put more resources towards serving members.
- Strong NCUA. NAFCU said it will continue its support for NCUA to be the sole industry regulator.
- Tax Exemption. NAFCU said a priority remains “preserving credit unions’ federal tax exemption in order to keep focus on members, not profits, and save U.S. consumers $16 billion annually.”
- Promote Transparency. “Encouraging government transparency and accountability to ensure taxpayers’ and credit unions’ dollars are used responsibly and rules are tailored appropriately” will be another point of focus, NAFCU said.