Hauptman: NCUA should help CUs offer American dream to more

The last few months have demonstrated the cooperative nature of credit unions, NCUA board nominee Kyle Hauptman told members of the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday. Hauptman, a native of Maine and current economic advisor to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), said he particularly enjoyed working with Arkansas credit unions and their companions in the Cornerstone Credit Union League.

“Credit unions help people achieve the same American dream that my dad experienced, born in Brooklyn to parents with fourth-grade educations. His dad, my grandfather, worked in the NYC subway putting up advertising,” he said in his testimony. “That man’s grandson is now before the US Senate, a testament to American opportunity, and at NCUA my overarching goal will be extending that kind of opportunity to as many people as possible.”

Hauptman recalled losing his job, savings and work visa while working in Asia for Lehman Brothers and said it “showed me first-hand the risks associated with liquidity, interest rates and balance-sheet management,” a perspective he said should be both “valuable and somewhat unique on the NCUA board.”

He also touted his ability to work in a bipartisan fashion, recalling his work with the staff of Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-Ohio) staff on reforming anti-money laundering laws.

 

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