Open Yours Eyes hits new heights

Open Yours Eyes hits new heights

The Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union? campaign has reached more milestones! The national campaign is being built state by state and has moved from Minnesota, to the Carolinas and has now reached Michigan.  

These early stages are proving to be really positive. In Minnesota, North Carolina and South Carolina we’ve outpaced our expectations, and have already reached 7.8 million consumers, gained 30 million impressions and earned 5.9 million video views from start to finish. We now have 475+ contributors that have pledged $34+ million! 

If you’re not involved yet, I encourage you to learn more. Take a look at a pieceby Unitus Community Credit Union Chair Frank Chinn that ran in CUInsight earlier this week – and visit cuna.org/awareness for all the details on the initiative.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

First meeting with NCUA Board Member Todd Harper

This week, CUNA staff and I met with new NCUA Board Member Todd Harper to congratulate him on his new role and level-set our regulatory priorities. The meeting was a welcome opportunity to engage with NCUA and understand the new board’s plans for the future.

CFPB takes first step on examining Remittance Rule

We’ve been pressing the CFPB to make changes to its Remittance Rule, making it one of our priorities with the Bureau. This week, they showed they’re listening and issued a Request for Information (RFI) on the rule. We plan to respond by reiterating our priorities to raise the current remittance threshold to 1,000 and encourage Congress to extend the fee estimates safe harbor. 

Letter: NCUA's supervisory committee audit proposal

We wrote a letter to NCUA sharing our support for its proposed rule on supervisory committee audits. The proposal would amend NCUA’s regulations governing the responsibilities of a federally insured credit union to obtain an annual supervisory committee audit of the credit union.

Letter: Delegating CFPB authority to NCUA

We also wrote a letter urging the CFPB to delegate its supervision authority of credit unions with over $10 billion in assets to the NCUA. Credit unions have our own regulator in NCUA, but right now just 11 of over 5,500 credit unions are subject to CFPB authority instead. The CFPB has the authority to delegate to NCUA, and we urge it to do so now.

Victory in Wisconsin Consumer Act lawsuit

This week, CUNA and the Wisconsin Credit Union League saw victory in a case decided by the state Supreme Court. CUNA and the Wisconsin league previously filed an amicus briefin the case that alleged lenders, including credit unions, were in violation of the Wisconsin Consumer Act. The court ruled that debtors can’t sue a consumer creditor for damages if they don’t receive proper notice. 

CUNA's MAP credit unions finding success

CUNA’s Membership Activation Program (MAP) is finding a lot of success engaging with credit union members. Our research shows that 77% of credit union members who receive advocacy materials are in favor of the program. Recent campaigns have covered the credit union difference, and just last week we launched a campaign on preserving CDFI funds. Not a MAP participant? Get involved!

Small credit unions making a big impact

Credit unions are as diverse as our membership. They have a big impact on the movement and serve a special purpose in communities across the country. Lori Herrick, president/CEO of Manchester Municipal FCU in Manchester, Conn., wrote in Credit Union Journal about her experience leading a small credit union. Check it out and connect withCUNA’s Small Credit Union Committee to learn more about promoting small credit unions. 

Thank you for your continued participation in and engagement with the CUNA/League system. As ever, if you have any issues you'd like CUNA to address, I encourage you to give me a call directly at 202-508-6745 or email me at [email protected].  

All the best,

Jim Nussle

President/CEO

Credit Union National Association