By Ray Birch
WASHINGTON—With turnover now taking place inside the Pentagon, ensuring new leaders who step in understand credit unions and the value CUs bring to military bases is something the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) will be focused on for 2021, according to Anthony Hernandez.
The DCUC president and CEO spoke with CUToday.info about what the trade association has on its list of key priorities for next year, what the organization has been able to do in 2020 to enhance the position of military CUs on bases and within their communities, and then what remains to be accomplished before Dec. 31.
“The leadership within the Pentagon is changing,” said Hernandez. “Those who are retiring represent a lot of people who have understood the value credit unions bring to the military and the role they fulfill on military bases. Our concern at DCUC is that those who are succeeding those who are leaving, may not understand the credit union value.”
Although much of the Pentagon’s leadership is also working at home due to the pandemic, Hernandez said that is not keeping DCUC from reaching out and meeting with new leaders within the Department of Defense (DoD).
“Yes, there is a lot for these leaders to deal with now, especially the pandemic,” said Hernandez. “But at DCUC we are working hard to make our case known—so people don’t forget, or understand for the first time, why credit unions serve the military well and what we bring via an on-base presence.”
What concerns Hernandez is that in the fast-moving digital banking era, accelerated by the pandemic, many people think banking now means having a phone in their pocket.
“And that speaks very little about the needs the military have right on their bases,” he explained. “You can’t get cash out of a phone. When stationed overseas, the credit union allows individuals to make purchases at the commissary. Who are the finance battalions going to turn to when there is a need to deploy troops immediately and a million dollars in cash is required with in a four-hour timeframe? A phone app doesn’t cut it. Plus, who is better equipped to look after the financial welfare of our troops?”
A Reminder
Hernandez reminded those are just some of the advantages of having credit unions on military bases.
“What we are doing is reminding the Department of Defense why we are on military locations and why we have non-compete clauses,” he said. “There is a lot that people can forget or not know right now, so this is a big educational process that we are working on. We are working hard to make new leaders at the DoD, and Pentagon, understand the value of credit unions and the purpose that we serve.
“But to make things clear, this is not your father’s DCUC anymore,” continued Hernandez. “We've taken active steps over the last three to four years to try to become a better trade association. More efforts have been focused on advocacy and forward-looking issues, and we are engaging even more strongly with the credit union industry and their major trade associations.
Changes at Multiple Levels
Hernandez pointed to changes that occurred in Washington, inside the DoD, and at NCUA for which DCUC lobbied hard in 2020.
“The DoD rescinded its December 2017 Interpretive Guidance with respect to Q&A number two—GAP, and DCUC led the effort,” said Hernandez. “NCUA made a technical change to 12 USC Sec. 701.34 (2), which now included military members in calculations to establish Low Income Credit Union designation—and DCUC led the effort. DCUC successfully advocated for removal of a House amendment in the NDAA that would have extended MLA restrictions to all U.S. consumers. We then followed up with a letter to Senate sponsors of the Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act with the same concerns.”
Anthony Hernandez
DCUC also recommended to Congress changes to the legislation that would help military members to better protect their purchases.
“We also successfully advocated for interim final rules along with ongoing concerns posed by credit unions participating in the Paycheck Protection Program,” noted Hernandez. “And DCUC was the first trade organization to work with U.S. Treasury and SBA for greater clarity on loan forgiveness.”
Looking Forward
Looking ahead to next year, Hernandez said the trade association is focused on continuing to advocate for passage of H.R. 2305 – the Veteran Business Lending Exemption – working with both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees on concerns with European troop withdrawals, and advocating for passage of the Credit Union Governance Modernization Act of 2020 (S. 3323).