Given the services they provide and their structure, credit unions should presumably adhere to stringent regulatory requirements — like banks do — and public disclosure requirements — like nonprofits do — but neither is the case. These substantial regulatory and disclosure gaps shield the credit union industry from proper scrutiny, which is a disservice to all Americans. This is especially problematic for those who support traditional, mission-driven credit unions facing competitive pressures from modern ones pursuing profits.
United Federal Credit Union is expanding its presence in Northwest Arkansas through the acquisition of a single branch from Truity Credit Union in Springdale, Ark. As part of the agreement, United will took over branch operations on April 5, 2021, and expanded its customer base by 6,000 people.
President Biden’s decision this week to name Todd Harper as chairman of the National Credit Union Administration puts in place a highly qualified, deeply experienced regulator at the helm of the industry’s supervisor and federal insurer.
PenFed offered to buy the $34 million Post Office Credit Union in Madison, Wisconsin, by offering $200 to each member—and a whole lot more to credit union executives who arranged the deal.
Crane Credit Union, of Crane, Ind., is buying its second bank of the year, saying it would purchase Spencer, Ind.-based Our Community Bank from Home Financial Bancorp in an all-cash transaction.
It’s odd that the credit union industry is using the ongoing global pandemic to make a desperate push for expanded business lending authority and broader “common bonds.” When Congress gave credit unions the tools weeks ago to make forgivable loans to struggling small businesses through the PPP, they weren’t interested.
Credit unions spend a lot of time and millions of marketing dollars touting their commitment to their members and to the greater cooperative good. “For people, not profit” is so ubiquitous a saying among the promoters that it is nearly as over-used as giant credit union PenFed’s “great rates for everyone” commercial jingle.
An op-ed by Rob Nichols, American Bankers Association president and CEO, and Steven J. Lepper, president and CEO of the Association of Military Banks of America, appeared in American Banker on June 18, 2020.
Teachers Credit Union, a South Bend, Ind.-based large credit union, completed its acquisition of New Buffalo Savings Bank, a community financial institution with $111 million in assets and locations in New Buffalo, Sawyer and Three Oaks, Michigan, further expanding the credit union’s presence in Southwest Mi. – Harbor Country News, June 2020
Congress has the tools to make sure large credit unions do a better job of meeting their 1934 statutory requirement to serve people of modest means, and that starts with the Community Reinvestment Act.
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