Lack of Accountability

Credit unions insist they are different than banks, and they are: they are less regulated. They hide behind the veil of their proud history as financial service providers to at-risk communities, and avoid rigorous regulatory oversight. Inadequate reporting standards have shielded the credit union industry from scrutiny. 

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Expert Views

Josh Silver, National Community Reinvestment Coalition
The Community Reinvestment Act should be expanded to cover credit unions, other nonbank lenders and insurers, according to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. Noting the growing share of nonbanks and credit unions in mortgage lending, NCRC Senior Policy Adviser Josh Silver argued that if nonbanks remain outside of CRA, “the competitive position of banks eventually will be undermined to the detriment of access to safe and sound credit and capital for LMI communities.” 
— National Community Reinvestment Coalition, 2020
Todd Harper, Then-NCUA Board Member and Current NCUA Chairman
“Why should it take complex, federally insured credit unions with $500 million or more in assets seven or eight years longer to implement their comparable risk-based capital rule than it took for banks and thrifts to implement theirs? That’s an uneven regulatory playing field.” 
— National Credit Union Administration, 2019
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Recent News and Insights

news

Ultra-large GreenState Credit Union – based in Iowa with nearly $11 billion in assets – has scrapped its plan to buy Omaha-based Premier Bank.

insights

PenFed has wasted no time in aggressive use of this prized open charter — a giant loophole hiding in plain sight —and has eclipsed the credit union industry’s overall growth rate in the first half of 2022 by a whopping seven percent. We’re here to ask – why haven’t policymakers taken action to crack down on this brazen misuse of credit union advantages? 

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Tell Congress it’s time to reform credit unions.