KEY WEST, Fla.–NCUA Board Member Rodney Hood told credit union CFOs gathered here the industry has emerged from the pandemic in strong shape, but there are “warning signs” he wants everyone to heed.
Hood’s comments came during NAFCU’s CFO Conference here.
While many are hoping for a return to “stability and normalcy,” Hood pointed to the “substantial challenges” in front of the country, including an economic slowdown, the effects of the war in Ukraine, and the fast pace of inflation.
There is good news to be seen in the ongoing growth in the employment market, he said.
In addition, he said the performance of federally insured credit unions has also remained strong.
“However, we do need to be attuned to warning signs for the industry’s future. Closures and consolidations are, of course, a fact of life, but at the same time we want to be sure that we have a pipeline of new credit union charters to bring fresh blood into the system, so to speak,” Hood said. “Moreover, we need to remain vigilant about protecting smaller credit unions, because they play an important role in the financial services ecosystem providing services to under-served communities. And we need to be attuned to the demographics of credit union membership – namely, are credit unions doing everything they can to appeal to a rising generation of younger members?”
Steps Taken by Agency
Hood told the meeting all of those challenges are “paramount” to the future of credit unions. To that end, he said NCUA has:
- Been working to increase the number of new credit unions, including four new charters in 2021. It also recently published a Charter Application Guide.
- Has expanded loan authorities under Credit Union Service Organizations (CUSOs).
- Has pushed Congress to allow financial services providers to work with cannabis-related businesses.
Personally, Hood said he has also “intensely focused” on how credit unions can work with financial technology providers to improve operations and member services.
Fintech Guidance Coming
“I’ve spoken with you before about how fintech is the future of financial services, and the NCUA is looking at creating a comprehensive rule to better guide credit unions in integrating fintech solutions with your existing service models – in a way that allows credit unions to take advantage of these innovative technologies while ensuring the safety and soundness of the system,” Hood said. “Most financial regulators are working on this issue in one way or another, but unfortunately we’re limited in what we can do without statutory guidance from Congress and the president.
“So, if that’s something you care about, and I know it’s a priority for NAFCU, then I would urge you to contact your congressional delegation and let them know,” he continued. “This should be a relatively easy issue to manage, on a bipartisan basis, even in today’s starkly divided political environment, but we need that push.”
Yes, FOMO is Very Real in this Case!
Don’t forget to check your Spam/Junk email folder if you haven’t been receiving your free, popular and daily CUToday.info news headlines.
And if you haven’t yet signed up for the new email solution on which CUToday.info has partnered with ResponseGenius, you can do so here. Signing up requires less than one minute of your time.
CUToday.info has received very positive response from readers following the move to an improved provider of the daily headlines, but many also noted they did need to go to their Spam/Junk folder and mark it as safe.
The new email solution has not only improved every reader’s delivery experience, but it also features a fresh, new format that is easy to read, especially on mobile devices.
Please note and/or make your IT department or email administrator aware the emails will be coming from the domains CUTodayinfo.com and CUTodayinfoReply.com