WASHINGTON–Will a new chairman at NCUA “Stop Credit Union Abuses?”
That’s the headline on a piece published on ExploreCreditUnions.com, a website operated by the American Bankers Association.
In the new posting the bankers’ trade group responded to the appointment of Todd Harper as NCUA’s new chairman by first praising Harper and then criticizing NCUA.
The ABA said Harper is a “highly qualified, deeply experienced regulator at the helm of the industry’s supervisor” and a “wise choice to lead NCUA, and by all accounts he will take his new role as a regulator seriously.”
“All too often credit union regulators become industry cheerleaders rather than responsible watchdogs. His record of public service to date is encouraging, and we look forward to Chairman Harper taking his seat alongside other banking regulators as they work to ensure the same regulations apply to like-kind institutions,” the ABA stated.
‘Relentless Pursuit’
The text goes on to state large credit unions have been “relentless in their pursuit of assets and members, a trend that has continued during the COVID-19 pandemic and will do so as long as their regulator does not force them to play by the rules and live by the spirit of the federal Credit Union Act that cemented their status as mission-minded, purpose-driven not-for-profits.”
The NCUA called on Harper and NCUA board members Rodney Hood and Kyle Hauptman to “use this opportunity to refocus the agency on ensuring large credit unions are held to account and not allowed to become essentially tax-exempt banks with fewer protections for consumers.”
The article further calls on the agency to “stop large credit unions from exploiting field-of-membership requirements in their hunt for assets, from ignoring their responsibilities to serve low-income and underserved communities as their charter intended, from taking on risky and potentially systemically damaging debt from outside investors, and from the most blatant form of mission-creep – buying up tax paying banks.
Divided by Assets
The article continues a theme used by the ABA in recent years that seeks to divide credit unions by assets.
“Large credit unions are giving a good industry a bad name,” the article continues. “They hide behind the mantra ‘people and not profits,’ leveraging the good work of their smaller mission-focused counterparts while continuing to press every possible lever to operate as tax-exempt banks. These financial powerhouses remind one of the old Saturday Night Live sketch about the murderous land shark: ‘Just a dolphin, ma’am.’”
The full article can be found here.