WASHINGTON–America’s Credit Unions has officially kicked off its Governmental Affairs Conference at the Washington Credit Union Center.
The meeting has a heavy focus on telling the credit union story, and will also be the first time Scott Simpson will address the GAC as the trade group’s new president and CEO. Simpson is scheduled to speak to the group on Monday morning.
The conference opened with a Sunday afternoon keynote by Kindra Hall, which was off the record to the press, and will include a Monday keynote by Brene Brown, which is also off the record to the press.
NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman will also speak to GAC on Monday.
The meeting annually draws more than 5,000 people from credit unions, associations, vendors and others, and the trade group has already announced it expects the 2026 event to be its largest ever.
Other Meetings on Agenda
- Filene will host its Chair Breakfast on Monday
- The National Credit Union Foundation’s Herb Wegner Awards dinner on Monday night
- The Defense Credit Union Council’s Defense Matters meeting on Tuesday
- The Global Women’s Leadership Network luncheon on Wednesday
State leagues and other organizations will also be hosting numerous events and meetings of their own, as will vendors.
On Wednesday, GAC will conclude will the traditional Hike the Hill meetings by credit unions as they meet with their respective representatives.
The CU Daily will have full coverage from throughout the meeting.
Comment Letters Filed on 4 Deregulatory Proposals
Separately, at the same time its meeting is under way, America’s Credit Unions has filed comments in support of four separate proposals issued in the second round of NCUA’s Dregulation Project..
The filed comments includes the following proposals and responses, America’s Credit Unions said:
Eliminating the official advertising statement requirement and related references. (The proposal does not alter the requirement to display the official NCUA sign.)
America’s Credit Unions said it supports the proposed elimination of the official advertising statement requirement in section 740.5, “as we believe it will provide flexibility while preserving the core safeguards that protect member awareness of federal share insurance. NCUA should closely monitor implementation to ensure that the change does not result in consumer confusion and should promptly revisit the regulation if it does.”
Removing the regulations related to approval and written policies on making loans to other credit unions.
America’s Credit Unions said it supports the proposal, as it will eliminate an unnecessary regulation. America’s Credit Unions members provided additional proactive suggestions to the NCUA, including allowing greater flexibility when an entity exceeds the limit, rather than requiring them to dispose of these investments at a loss; and establishing a tiered due-diligence framework.
Amending the requirements for federally insured credit unions to report catastrophic acts to the NCUA.
America’s Credit Unions said it “supports the three changes in the proposal, to: give federally insured credit unions more time to notify the agency; eliminate the specific list of items to be documented in a separate recordkeeping report; and simplify the reporting process.”
Removing the segregated deposit and collateral requirements when a federally insured credit union acts as a surety and guarantor.
America’s Credit Unions said it supports removing the rigid 100/110% collateral thresholds for surety and guarantor activities, as the 2016 commercial lending framework already provides adequate risk management oversight. “Comments also note the current prescriptive requirements discourage smaller credit unions from engaging in surety activities that could benefit members,” the trade group noted.
Comments on the third round of the Deregulation Project are due March 16.
