Filson Calls for Cooperative NCUA

by CU Soapbox

Filson encourages credit unions and their members to sign WhiteHouse.gov petition.

by Jimmy Marks

On Monday morning, just as the CUNA Government Affairs Conference (GAC) was getting underway, Chip Filson, Chairman of Callahan & Associates, Inc. was gathering a crowd of CU professionals for a press conference. As the room quickly filled and places were taken in chairs and along the walls of the meeting room, Filson announced a new vision for the NCUA and for credit unions – a vision based on the seven cooperative principles. Filson’s proposal would encourage the administration to allow credit unions to have a say in which individuals would be selected for open NCUA board seats.

From the Press Release that accompanied the conference:

“The cooperative design is foundational to the success of credit unions and their member-owners. Yet there is widespread concern that the Agency is not practicing cooperative solutions,” Filson said. “How can credit unions fulfill their special role in providing Americans with real choices for their financial wellbeing if a cooperative regulatory perspective is lacking?”

Filson called on all attendees – and, in turn, all credit unions and credit union members – to sign a petition on the White House public petitions website, asking the Obama Administration to fill upcoming NCUA board-seat vacancies with “leaders who understand the shared economic value for people and communities created by the Cooperative model”. As of this writing, the petition has received 549 signatures and needs 99,451 more to be considered formally by the White House. The 100,000 signature benchmark must be met by March 26, 2013 for the petition to be considered.

When asked whether or not the petition would hold any real significance, Filson seemed adamant that the petition itself was an important example of the openness of governance and leadership, whether the 100,000 signature goal is met or not. NCUA board members are currently appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

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