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NAFCU’s Economic Monitor finds majority of CUs support modernizing FCU bylaws

WASHINGTON, DC (May 22, 2018) — The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) in its May Economic & CU Monitor discovered that member credit unions are open to modernizing Federal Credit Union Bylaws to reflect modern technology.

In addition to this month’s Monitor, NAFCU Regulatory Affairs Counsel Ann Kossachev sent a letter to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) offering ways to modernize the FCU bylaws. NAFCU has previously offered suggestions to improve the bylaws and thanked the NCUA in the letter “for its commitment to modernizing the bylaws with the express intent of reducing regulatory compliance burdens and providing increased operational flexibility to credit unions.”

The Monitor surveys credit unions each month on key industry concerns. Below are key findings from the May Monitor and survey results, with the full report attached.

Special Topic – FCU Bylaws

92 percent of respondents support improvements to the FCU bylaws, particularly with respect to the provisions governing limitation of service.
Almost two-thirds of respondents were in favor of adding bylaw provisions to allow annual or special meetings to be conducted through video or teleconference.
78 percent of respondents indicated that the use of tech, such as social media or web-based conferencing solutions, could encourage greater member participation in meetings.
When asked for additional improvements, several respondents indicated that they would like to see increased responsiveness from NCUA when questions arise pertaining to FCU bylaws.

Also included in the Monitor are the results from the May Credit Union Sentiment Index, an index based on NAFCU member responses to eight questions on growth and earnings outlook, lending conditions and regulatory burden.

The Credit Union Sentiment Index (CUSI) increased in May, nearly matching its highest score on record. Two of the four component scores were responsible for the increase in the overall index. The growth component rebounded from a two-month decline as over 90 percent of respondents characterized their outlook for growth over the next 12 months as either “somewhat” or “very good”.
The earnings component fell for the second consecutive month in May. The vast majority of respondents still maintain a positive earnings outlook, and they are increasingly citing the interest rate environment as supportive of that optimism.

For the full Monitor report please see attached; Kossachev’s letter is available here and attached.

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.