Newsroom

July 31, 2013

Berger takes NAFCU reins today

Berger discussed the transition at NAFCU during this address before the association's Annual Conference and Solutions Expo last month in Boston.

Aug. 1, 2013 – B. Dan Berger is NAFCU's president and CEO as of today, and he's marking the transition with a meeting of all NAFCU staff while participating in the association-wide preparation for the NAFCU Congressional Caucus, set for September in Washington.

"It is a privilege to lead NAFCU during such a dynamic time, and I'm grateful to the NAFCU board of directors for the opportunity," Berger said. "I look forward to building on the momentum achieved by outgoing president and CEO Fred Becker to help credit unions thrive in the future."

He reiterated that, going forward, NAFCU's relentless focus on members will continue. Members are "job one" for NAFCU, he said.

Berger joined NAFCU as senior vice president of government affairs, which encompasses five divisions, in January 2006 and was promoted to executive vice president in July 2009. He has been named in The Hill as one of the most influential lobbyists for the past 10 years and has beena commentator on Fox News, CNBCand CNN. He is quoted regularly in the Wall Street Journal,The Washington Postand numerous financial services publications.

Berger discussed the transition at NAFCU in an interview published this week in The Hill'sOn the Money blog. In the interview, he noted NAFCU's close relationship with member CEOs and the particularly negative impact on credit unions of growing regulatory burden under the Dodd-Frank Act. He said working to ease that regulatory burden and preserving credit unions' federal tax exemption are top concerns.

"As we reach out daily to the members of Congress who are writing the tax bill and working on the issue, we feel pretty good where we are at this point," he says in the article, "but we remain vigilant."

Credit unions are coming to Washington next month to talk to lawmakers about regulatory burden and the need to preserve the tax exemption, increase member business lending authority and more during NAFCU's Congressional Caucus.

The Congressional Caucus will be the first large gathering where Berger will appear in his new role. The Caucus is scheduled Sept. 8-11 at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel.