WASHINGTON–Representatives of a number of state credit union leagues will again be hiking the Hill in Washington this week and when they do it’s likely they may hear some pushback on some issues where the banking industry has made some inroads, according to one person.

In response to a question from the CU Daily during a call with the press, Jason Stverak, chief advocacy officer with the Defense Credit Union Council, said issues credit union representatives may hear raised by those on the other side of the table include the growing size of credit unions, any “regulatory missteps” a credit union(s) may have made, and credit union acquisitions of banks. 

‘Stronger’ Argument

“Thankfully, because of the incredible amount of advocacy that credit unions have done over a long period of time there is a reservoir of trust between the members or staff and the credit unions and credit union institutions that we can rely upon,” said Stverak. “But a lot of it is that we need to be there continually educating members and helping clear up any miscommunications that the banks may have helped disseminate on  Capitol Hill. The more members of Congress hear from their credit unions back home, the stronger our argument is to protect the credit union tax exemption.”