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NAFCU Board meets with Federal Reserve’s Brainard

WASHINGTON, DC (November 29, 2016) — The National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) Board of Directors met with the Federal Reserve today to present findings of the 2016 NAFCU Report on Credit Unions and discuss vital credit union issues. The meeting was hosted by Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard.

“Our 2016 NAFCU Report on Credit Unions shows that despite the challenging legislative and regulatory climate, credit unions serve a vital role in serving approximately 105 million members and the nation’s economy, and are well-positioned for the future,” said NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger. “This is the 24th year that NAFCU met with the Federal Reserve, and we welcomed the opportunity to discuss current issues that are significant to credit unions and the financial services industry.”

The 2016 NAFCU Report on Credit Unions looks at five key areas: credit union trends, credit unions’ service to their members and use of Federal Reserve services, legislative issues facing credit unions, regulatory issues facing credit unions, and strategic goals and challenges of credit unions.

Some of the highlights in the 2016 report include the following:

The credit union industry overall is very healthy and well capitalized. After dropping during the crisis, FICUs’ net worth ratio has since recovered.
A majority of credit unions offer internet banking and a growing number offer mobile banking. Credit unions also plan to invest heavily in mobile banking over the next three years.
The Federal Reserve remains a critical source of transaction services for the industry.
Preserving the credit union tax exemption remains NAFCU’s top legislative priority. Credit unions provide over $17 billion annually in benefits to the economy, and NAFCU remains vigilant in defending the industry against false attacks.
The ever-increasing regulatory burden in the post Dodd-Frank era continues to challenge credit unions. Credit unions are unique and, as good actors within the financial services industry, they should not be subject to the expansive regulations aimed at the bad actors that caused the financial crisis.
Credit unions face growing concerns over data security and cybersecurity, as they often are accountable for bearing significant costs to make their members “whole” when a merchant data breach occurs.
Credit unions are the most highly regulated of all financial institutions. Compliance challenges are exacerbated by the CFPB’s seeming lack of understanding of the operational difficulties associated with implementing its complex rules.
NAFCU continues to work to ensure that any new payments system will be cost-effective, operationally effective and scalable for credit unions of all sizes.
Strengthening the credit union dual chartering system is imperative to the future strength and well-being of the industry.

NAFCU Board members that attended today’s meeting at the Fed included Richard L. Harris, NAFCU chair and president and CEO of Caltech Employees Federal Credit Union in La Canada, Calif.; Jeanne Kucey, NAFCU vice chair and president and CEO of JetStream Federal Credit Union in Miami Lakes, Fla.; Debra Schwartz, NAFCU treasurer and president and CEO of Mission Federal Credit Union in San Diego, Calif.; Thomas DeWitt, NAFCU secretary and president and CEO of State Farm Federal Credit Union in Bloomington, Ill.; Martin Breland, president and CEO of Tower Federal Credit Union in Laurel, Md.; Gary Grinnell, president and CEO of Corning Federal Credit Union in Corning, N.Y.; Jan Roche, president and CEO of State Department Federal Credit Union in Alexandria, Va.; Charles Rutan, president and CEO of Southwest Airlines Federal Credit Union in Dallas, TX; Rod Taylor, president and CEO of Barksdale Federal Credit Union in Barksdale AFB, La.; and Daniel Weickenand, CEO of Orion Federal Credit Union in Memphis, Tenn.

Other key association staff that attended include Anthony Demangone, executive vice president and COO, Carrie Hunt, executive vice president of government affairs and general counsel, and Curt Long, chief economist and director of research.

The information gathered in the 2016 NAFCU Report on Credit Unions is based on the association’s Federal Reserve Meeting Survey, an annual assessment of NAFCU members covering topics discussed in the report. The report also uses information from NAFCU’s Economic & CU Monitor, CU Industry Trends Report and the association’s 2014 study, “Economic Benefits of the Credit Union Tax Exemption to Consumers, Businesses and the U.S. Economy.” The 2016 NAFCU Report on Credit Unions is available at www.nafcu.org/research/reportoncreditunions.

In addition to today’s meeting, NAFCU’s Board of Directors met with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray yesterday, where they discussed important issues under the CFPB’s authority that impact the credit union industry.

About NAFCU

The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions is the only national trade association focusing exclusively on federal issues affecting the nation’s federally-insured credit unions. NAFCU membership is direct and provides credit unions with the best in federal advocacy, education and compliance assistance. For more information on NAFCU, go to www.nafcu.org or @NAFCU on Twitter.