Credit unions have a home field advantage with in-district visits

With two weeks left before federal lawmakers return to Washington, D.C., credit unions and state leagues have been taking advantage of home-district visits to share their concerns about a wide range of policy issues as well as the credit union difference.

Visits like these are a “win-win” for credit unions and the member of Congress, said Ryan Donovan, CUNA’s chief advocacy officer. “It exposes the legislators to credit unions and gives them an insight on how they operate and who they serve, and it gives them the opportunity to interact with their constituents.”

Among this summer’s visits:

• Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) invited delegates from Buckeye State CU, Akron; CSE FCU, Canton; Seven Seventeen CU, Warren; and the Ohio Credit Union League to a meeting of financial services leaders from northeast Ohio. The league reported that Brown took to heart credit union concerns about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recent rule on small-dollar, short-term lending (eLumination Aug. 18).

continue reading »