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NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger last night welcomed President Obama's focus in his State of the Union address on the need to address growing cyber threats and to take actions aimed at helping advance the nation's economy.

"NAFCU appreciates the president's belief that together we can do great things," said Berger. "In 2015, NAFCU looks forward to working with the administration and Congress to advance our country's economic prosperity, especially through several key issues that also reflect our priorities for 2015 – including national data security standards for retailers and increased small business lending."

Berger noted particularly the association's efforts to establish national data security standards for retailers, and he reiterated NAFCU's call to lift the arbitrary member business lending cap so credit unions can help small businesses create valuable jobs "without the need for any new taxes or government programs."

The president last night alluded to threats waged against the Dodd-Frank Act and pledged to veto efforts to roll back consumer protections put in place after the financial crisis. Berger acknowledged the need for protections but also warned of unintended consequences.

"While NAFCU recognizes the importance of consumer protection post-financial crisis, we wish to emphasize that ensuring consumers' best interests has been a guiding principle of the nation's credit unions – not-for-profit, member-owned financial institutions – since their inception," Berger said.

He added, "We urge the president to work with Congress to bring about common-sense changes that ensure that the provisions enacted to rein in bad actors on Wall Street – through the Dodd-Frank Act or any other measure – not be so constraining that the nation's credit unions are hampered in their ability to meet the very real financial services needs of their more than 100 million members nationwide."