Embracing this advocacy opportunity

August is a critical moment for our 360-degree advocacy. While it might not look the way it did before the pandemic, we can still use this month to do important work for our members.

CUNA and the Leagues have been working with the House Financial Services Committee on the Expanding Financial Access for Underserved Communities Act, a bill that would:

• Allow all federal credit unions to add underserved areas to their field of membership.
• Exempt business loans made by credit unions to businesses in underserved areas from the credit union member business lending cap.
• Expand the definition of an underserved area to include any area that is more than 10 miles from the nearest branch of a financial institution.

We’re also pushing back against barriers to accessible, safe, and affordable credit. Recent proposals to enact an “all-in” 36% rate cap on all consumer loans would have a chilling impact on the availability of credit.

And playing on the banks’ broken record is their annual push to get rent-free access on military bases, just like credit unions. This arrangement is in place because of credit unions’ legacy to servicemembers and their families—we can’t let them equate parity in base access with?parity in consumer service.

We’re engaging with the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to make sure they preserve our people-over-profit agreement regarding base access in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

I hope you have a happy and productive August.

Don’t forget to watch the July CUNA Economic Update

CUNA Data Analyst Paul Hellman dives into the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances to share highlights around the percentage of households using credit unions, changes in credit applications, and evidence of credit unions offering better auto loan pricing to consumers. Thank you to our July CUNA Economic Update sponsor, Members Trust Company.

watch the video >

Hear from our newest League leaders

This week’s CUNA News podcast features interviews with some of our newest League president/CEOs: Patty Corkery from the Michigan Credit Union League, Rich Schaffer from the West Virginia Credit Union League, and Carrie Hunt from the Virginia Credit Union League. It’s an exciting time to welcome new leaders into the CUNA-League system, and the podcast features great conversations about their priorities going forward. And after you listen to that, check out the episode featuring Juan Fernández, Credit Union Association of New Mexico’s president/CEO.

listen to the podcast here >

Congratulations to CUNA Management School graduates

Congratulations to the 78 credit union leaders who recently graduated CUNA Management School, earning their Certified Credit Union Executive designation. I spoke to this year’s class at their graduation ceremony and told them that their diverse experiences and outlooks will lead the credit union movement into the future. I can’t wait to see what this group is going to do.

Read about the graduating class here >

Pushing back against interchange expansion

Our Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donovan wrote to all 535 congressional offices this week to remind them that the credit card system works and is an integral part of our economy. He reminded them that millions of people rely on their credit union’s card services for their day-to-day needs. We sent this message as proposals have been floated to expand the Durbin Amendment interchange cap on debit cards to credit cards, which we strongly oppose.

Read more here >

More from 360-degree advocacy:

• We told the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee that NCUA should continue to be responsive to the needs of credit unions during the pandemic.?
• We discussed credit union priorities with Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Sandra Thompson this week.?
• We wrote in support of the Fed’s continued development of the FedNow real-time payments network.?
• The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee advanced the nomination of former CUNA Senior Director of Advocacy and Counsel Damon Smith to serve as general counsel for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.