Credit Unions

Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) have reintroduced legislation (H.R. 1537) to expand credit unions’ commercial lending authority, reduce their statutory capital requirements, expand their field of membership, and makes it more difficult for a credit union to convert to a mutual savings charter. H.R. 1537 currently has two cosponsors from Georgia: Reps. John Lewis and Sanford Bishop.

The GBA is opposed to the legislation and asks our members to utilize this link to join a letter writing campaign organized by the American Bankers Association against H.R. 1537. Clicking on this link and completing the form is a quick and effective way to let your member of congress know of your opposition to the bill.

Bankers have raised concerns for a number of years over the tax inequities that exist between credit unions and commercial banks and thrifts. With the credit union expansion legislation that passed in the late 1990’s further adding fuel to the fire, the issue of taxing credit unions is a priority for the banking industry. It is hard to ignore the growth of those credit unions that are much larger than the average community bank with members stretching far beyond their original common bond.

The GBA has also joined with the ABA and 40 other state bankers associations in filing an amicus brief in the Community Credit Union v. National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) case, in which two Texas based credit unions are suing the NCUA for its refusal to certify their member votes to covert to federally chartered mutual savings associations. The brief in support of the credit unions argues that NCUA’s decision was “arbitrary and capricious” because “the method and means of folding a single piece of paper cannot be the basis of a reasoned regulator’s decision.”

Also, the NCUA’s regulation governing the disclosures to be given to credit union members should also be invalidated, the brief argues. The NCUA’s “actions demonstrate that its true goal behind the adoption of the regulation in question is the prevention of any credit union from converting to a mutual savings institution.” Click here to read the ABA motion. Click here to read the amicus brief.

Click here for the GBA video on the importance of grassroots which concludes by asking every banker to send a quick letter to your member of Congress on the credit union legislation mentioned above, H.R. 1537. The letter will be generated via the internet with just a few clicks of a button.

Credit Union Bill Introduced

Legislation has been introduced to give credit unions expanded commercial lending authority and lower their capital constraints. Click to view GBA's video: Grassroots Involvement - One Banker at a Time Taking Action.