NAFCU President Fred Becker last week announced the association’s addition of Regulatory Compliance Counsels Bernadette Clair and Jihan “Jiji” Bahhur, who will enhance NAFCU’s industry-leading compliance resources.
They join NAFCU Director of Regulatory Compliance Steve Van Beek, Senior Regulatory Compliance Counsel Sarah Loats Zimmermann and Regulatory Paralegal Shari Pogach as part of NAFCU’s compliance assistance program.
Clair and Bahhur will assist NAFCU-member credit unions with compliance issues and author compliance articles for NAFCU publications, including the NAFCU Compliance Blog. They will also detail pertinent regulatory issues at NAFCU events, like the highly-regarded NAFCU Regulatory Compliance School (March 12-17, 2012) and Regulatory Compliance Seminar (October 23-26, 2012).
"Given the increasingly challenging regulatory environment, we are enhancing our esteemed compliance resources to better serve our members with the most efficient, comprehensive compliance assistance and information in the industry," said Becker. “With their strong compliance backgrounds, I know that Bernadette and Jiji will serve our credit union members well at NAFCU.”
Prior to joining NAFCU, Clair worked for Congressional FCU in Oakton, Va., as a compliance specialist and a Bank Secrecy Act and regulatory compliance manager. Clair is a graduate of the George Mason University School of Law and a member of the Virginia State Bar and American Bar Association. She has been a NAFCU Certified Compliance Officer since 2002.
Since 2009, Bahhur was in-house counsel/director of compliance for Washington Gas Light FCU in Springfield, Va. She is licensed to practice law in Michigan and Virginia. Bahhur also interned at Booth Patterson, PC as well as Powers, Chapman, DeAgostino, Meyers, and Milia, PC. Bahhur holds a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, as well as a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Detroit Mercy.
NAFCU members learn more about the association’s Regulatory Compliance Program online. Also, updated contact information for the compliance team is available.