What if the CU Trade Associations Had to Run for Re-Election?

By Frank J. Diekmann

I’m not much of a political prognosticator—I’m pretty sure I would have lost my Nash in a wager on Thomas Dewey–but I have a strong suspicion that if the credit union trade groups and leagues had to run for re-election in the mid-terms, many of them would not be popping the champagne when the returns came in.

When a change of control happens in Congress or the White House, the pundits will often say it was the result of being perceived as “out of touch.” Just as the political coroners have said the Democrats were oblivious to the views of working class Americans in the 2024 elections, and the tea leaf readers are saying Republicans will lose seats in the 2026 races because they appear more than a 10-foot-pole away from what their constituents are feeling from skyrocketing health care and housing costs, I’ve been struck by how many in the rank-and-file CUs feel the credit union trade groups don’t seem to in touch with their rank or their file. 

What all that means is that people may lean left or right, but they all lean away when they feel they aren’t being heard. And many credit unions leaders feel the trade groups are wearing noise-cancelling headphones. What they keep hearing is “advocacy, advocacy, advocacy.” What I keep hearing from them is that “no one is advocating for me.” One CEO told me over lunch at a meeting recently, “All that money I’m always being asked for the PAC to ‘protect the future of credit unions’ does nothing to fund my retirement if my credit union isn’t here to be protected.”

Packing Up the Office

It was that conversation—which was unprompted by the way—and countless others I’ve had with those in the C-suite, when combined with two antonym-like messages at the soul of two press releases issued within the last week, that got me to thinking about how the incumbent trade groups would be packing up their offices and heading home if CU leaders went to the polls to cast votes on who represents them.

Bottom line: the slowly but steadily disappearing credit unions in the middle —the ones that put the roots in the grassroots—tell me they don’t need more lip service from the groups they send all those dues dollars to—they need help and assistance and support—because they’re taking it on the lip.

Nothing in Common

Consider this contrast.

Last week, America’s Credit Unions and the National Credit Union Administration issued statements and reports, respectively, that make you wonder if the “Credit Union” they share in their names have anything in common 

Let’s begin with NCUA. It issued its Third Quarter 2025 NCUA Quarterly Data Summary Report, as the CU Daily reported here, which included a sentence it just cuts and pastes from one quarterly report to the next. The agency begins by noting that “consistent with long-running trends,” before it follows with an update on how credit unions with assets of at least $1 billion in assets reported growth in all categories, and CUs below the billion-dollar threshold—that’s most CUs, by the way–did not. You’re probably not surprised by that.

Numbers Not Good

Consider this from NCUA’s latest update:

• The 277 CUs with assets between $500 million-$1 billion reported a 0.3% decrease in total loans outstanding over the year. Membership declined 2.0%. 

• The 1,042 CUs with $100 million but less than $500 million in assets reported a 1.7% decrease in total loans outstanding over the year. Membership declined 3.7%.
• The 575 CUs with at least $50 million but less than $100 million in assets reported a 9.5% decline in total loans over the year. Membership declined 9.9%. Net worth fell 2.7%.
• The 1,158 CUs with assets of at least $10 million but less than $50 million reported a 7.4% decrease in loans over the year, while membership declined 7.1%.
• The 820 CUs with less than $10 million in assets reported a 9.5% decrease in loans over the year while membership declined 6.4% and net worth fell 4.2%.

Does that sound like a group of credit unions eager to know how that $12-million upgrade to Credit Union House in Washington is coming? Or a group that is a lot more worried about their own houses?

The Contrast

Now, contrast the NCUA data with the statement that came the same week from America’s Credit Unions issued from the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Rancho Mirage, Calif., where the American Association of CU Leagues was meeting, on its advocacy priorities for 2026:

• Advance and Expand Access to Credit Unions 
• Modernize the Credit Union Charter
• Establish a Federal Data Protection Standard
• Empower and Enhance Fraud Prevention
• Reform CFPB Structure & Rulemaking
• Expand Innovation Opportunities
• Protect and Reinforce the Credit Union Tax Status
• Protect Interchange
• Support a Strong, Independent Credit Union Regulatory Regime

What you don’t see is a bullet point about protecting those who are being shot by the bullets in the NCUA data. 

Goodbye, Madison

Yes, those are political advocacy objectives outlined by America’s Credit Unions, but politickin’ is pretty much what it’s all about now. Mr. Little Man went to Washington and left Madison, Wis. behind. 

Recently, some other associations also issued statements about how America’s Credit Unions is united around a mission of protecting, elevating and advancing credit unions. 

But with a credit union a day disappearing in this country, many CU leaders have told me they don’t feel particularly protected, elevated or advanced. 

I also got a text from one CEO who told me she’s getting tired of hearing about the CU “family” when it seems all the bigger CU brothers and sisters want to do is bully her about a merger.

In what has quickly become one of the most-widely read op-eds on the CU Daily, Joshua Urbick, CEO of the $20-million IBEW 26 FCU in the Washington, D.C. area, made numerous points that were so powerful and eloquent I plan to eventually take credit for them myself.

Call for ‘Revolution’

Mr. Urbick, sharing his perspective as the CEO of a small CU, wrote that he has “watched from the sidelines as the voices of small credit unions grow louder. And with that, so has the industry’s effort to quiet any potential upset or ‘revolution.’ I don’t think I’ve ever seen the noise reach this volume on both sides.”

Urbick questioned whether many large credit unions are “even credit unions anymore,” and posited that the “mega-credit unions attempting to strengthen their brand, expand their footprint, and pursue mergers with smaller institutions through propositions that often feel aggressive, and at times downright disrespectful. And if the small credit union refuses? The mega-credit union simply targets their members directly, forcing them out of business. It’s vaguely reminiscent of old-school mafia tactics.

“So, yes, it can be difficult for small credit unions to embrace the ‘unity at all costs’ messaging directed at us,” Urbick wrote, referring to the trade association messages that have been heavy on the “U” word of late. 

The irony, of course, is that if you feel you the need to preach unity, it’s because you sense the troops aren’t feeling particularly unified.

A Call to ‘Reprioritize’

Separately, the group of small CUs that is known as “Endangered Small Credit Unions Defense” (ESCUD) recently issued a proclamation that challenged the trade groups to “reprioritize” and put more emphasis on supporting smaller CUs. 

If not, Doug Wadsworth, the CEO who leads the group, said the smaller CUs could just take their admittedly limited dues dollars elsewhere and form their own “support systems, networks, and shared advocacy structures.”

A public letter from ESCUD added, “The earliest credit unions were small, local, member-led, and deeply rooted in community needs. Their strength came from close relationships, trust, and democratic governance. Their purpose was not to scale endlessly, but to serve their memberships and communities responsibly and sustainably. Small credit unions remain the most faithful expression of that founding vision.”

The letter than adds, “The operational realities of a $50M credit union and a $10B credit union have diverged so dramatically that they now operate in different financial and regulatory worlds. Even when regulations differ by threshold, their impact is disproportionately heavier on small institutions, and the broader agenda is often shaped around the capacities of the largest.”

Sent Back to the Pound

What I’ve heard numerous times from not just Mr. Urbick and Mr. Wadsworth is that smaller CUs feel their role in the advocacy efforts is to be trotted out like show dogs when the tax exemption is being scrutinized and then sent back to the pound when the threat passes.

The trade groups will no doubt respond by pointing to the small credit union meetings they host, which absolutely have value—for those who can afford to be there. That’s the great irony of an event for smaller CUs—those who would most benefit from attendance are also least likely to pay the registration fee and make an airline reservation. There’s no budget. They can’t take time off. They’re wearing so many hats their necks hurt, and you know that hotel pillows seldom help a sore neck.

A CU-nspiracy?

We live in the age of conspiracy theories and credit unions aren’t immune—CU-Anon, anyone?—and the one I hear being whispered most often is that the CU trade groups aren’t shedding too many cooperative tears over all the mergers, as smaller CUs are high maintenance, low-revenue, and the bigger asset shops are just the opposite. 

That may not be fair, and perhaps the CU-Anoners are as beer nuts crazy as the rest of the tinfoil hat gang, but many a politician has lost a seat based not on facts, but perceptions. 

And certainly, there are many individuals within the trade groups who are dedicated to helping even the smallest CUs to prosper, and they deserve your appreciation. 

Stand With Us

In its letter to the trade groups, ESCUD wrote, “When small credit unions thrive, the entire movement thrives. We ask you to stand with us in that work.”

And you know what happens when the electorate doesn’t believe their representatives are standing with them. They go stand somewhere else.

Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator-in-Chief with the CU Daily. He can be reached at [email protected]. Reader feedback is always encouraged.