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NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger last night wrote House and Senate leaders to correct the inaccuracies being peddled by banking trades to thwart NCUA's effort to update and modernize its field-of-membership rules.

The American Bankers Association and Independent Community Bankers of America are painting NCUA's proposed FOM rule as a back-door effort by NCUA to violate Federal Credit Union Act limits. They are making this assertion in hopes of keeping the rules as stringent as possible to limit consumers' access to credit unions and minimize competition faced by banks.

In last night's letter, Berger said NAFCU members believe the federal charter "must keep pace with changes in state laws, technology and the progressiveness of the financial services industry." He added, "NCUA is well within its statutory authority in this effort to streamline its chartering and FOM procedures, as well as removing non-statutory constraints on FOM chartering and expansion."

Berger corrects the assertions made by the banking trades, emphasizing that the proposed rule goes no farther than what is permitted by current law. He also suggests that if the banking trades had been this focused on their own members' activities prior to the financial downturn, banks may have avoided TARP and the "over $100 billion in fines, settlements and buy-backs" for their misdeeds.

He called again for banking trades to work alongside credit unions "on issues that can help the entire financial services community, such as regulatory relief and creating a national data security standard" for retailers.

The letter went to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Minority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), House Speaker Paul Ryan (Wis.) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.); it was copied to all U.S. senators and representatives.