Recently, PSECU, Pennsylvania’s largest credit union, hosted a visit from The Honorable Todd M. Harper, Board Member for the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). During the July 26 meeting, Harper shared his priorities and philosophies, then answered questions from the credit union’s senior staff and Board of Directors.
“Having a member of the NCUA Board take the time to visit our credit union, share his thoughts with us, and listen intently to our questions and concerns was a great honor,” said PSECU President George Rudolph. “On behalf of PSECU, our Board of Directors, and all our employees, I’d like to thank Todd for making open dialog with credit unions a priority. Face-to-face opportunities like this one will have a positive impact on the entire credit union industry as we serve our valued members and uphold the credit union ‘people helping people’ philosophy.”
Harper was nominated to serve on the NCUA Board on February 6, 2019. The U.S. Senate confirmed him on March 14, 2019, and he was sworn in as a member of the NCUA Board on April 8, 2019. Prior to joining the NCUA Board, Harper served as director of the agency’s Office of Public and Congressional Affairs and chief policy advisor to former Chairmen Debbie Matz and Rick Metsger. Harper is the first member of the NCUA staff to become an NCUA Board Member.
Harper noted that face-to-face meetings with credit unions like the one held at PSECU are important to him because they allow him to gain first-hand insight from industry leaders that he can then take back to NCUA staff to help them create effective and efficient regulatory policy.
While at PSECU, Harper relayed ideas to the group on what a regulator should be by highlighting the acronym F.I.R.E.: Fair and Forward-thinking; Inclusive and Independent; Risk-focused and Ready to Act; and Engaged and Efficient. He also identified his four priority focus areas as a regulator - capital and liquidity, cybersecurity, consumer protection, and inclusion. A question-and-answer session with PSECU’s 23 participants followed. Topics covered included cybersecurity and trends in fraud prevention, credit union consolidation and competition, the responsibilities of the NCUA and its Board, and changes on the legislative horizon for financial institutions.
Harper’s visit to PSECU was coordinated by the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association (PCUA) as the last stop on his recent Pennsylvania tour, which included meetings with credit union professionals from both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, held in Harrisburg and Wilkes-Barre. Pennsylvania was the fourth state Harper has visited since being confirmed to the NCUA Board. He has a strong history with the commonwealth, previously serving on former Rep. Paul Kanjorski’s staff and having lived in the Wilkes-Barre area.
“We are very pleased that NCUA Board Member Todd Harper spent the better part of two days in Pennsylvania hearing from both Pennsylvania and New Jersey credit unions,” PCUA President & CEO Patrick Conway said. “We appreciated his candor as well as his clearly articulated policy goals to ensure a positive operating environment for all credit unions. We look forward to continuing this dialogue in the months and years to come.”
The Honorable Todd M. Harper, National Credit Union Administration Board Member, met with PSECU leadership on July 26, 2019.