WASHINGTON–With one person noting that “pretty much everyone in the industry has been ruminating on and discussing” the firing of the two NCUA board members, what it will mean to the credit union agenda on Capitol Hill remains unknown, according to several people.
“Obviously, many people have questions in relation to the next steps (at NCUA) and what’s going to happen, and your guess is as good as mine,” said Stverak. “The rumor mill in Washington is what it is. Are they going to nominate someone right away or nominate two people right away or nominate someone of the Republican and then a different party? Those are kind of the discussions that are being held in the public and in the media.”
The reference above to political parties has to do with the fact the Federal Credit Union Act says different parties must be represented on the NCUA board, but it does not specify which parties.
“We’re blessed as an industry to have highly qualified staff over there that will help ensure that the safety and soundness of the entire credit union system is protected and insurance fund will not have any issues,” said Stverak.
Stverak said the Defense Council had enjoyed a good working relationship with both former board members, Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka, which it also expressed in a statement it also made publicly late last week.
Point of Agreement: Much is Unknown
How the firings of the NCUA board members will affect credit unions’ agenda on Capitol Hill really remains unknown, agreed Jim Nussle, president and CEO of America’s Credit Unions.
Nussle noted that last week when the trade group began reaching out to various people on Capitol Hill that many were unaware the two board members had been shown the door.
‘The Air in the Room’
“It has taken up some of the air in the room,” said DCUC’s Stverak. “Obviously, we’ve had outreach to both Republican and Democratic offices about the issue. Yes, it’s another topic that you have to discuss in meetings, but I don’t think it detracts from what we are doing (otherwise), whether it’s the tax status or NCUA’s independence and not being rolled up into one regulatory agency for all financial institutions, or the myriad of other issues that we are working with members of Congress on. But it is a topic that is getting discussed.”
