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In a new op-ed in RealClear Markets, CUNA President and CEO Jim Nussle and NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger hit back against a recent survey from bankers that misleadingly asserts consumers don’t support the credit union tax exemption. Nussle and Berger pointed to real data that demonstrate the benefits of the industry’s tax-exempt status.

“Credit unions were created to solve a problem caused by banks. As more and more Americans see the credit union difference, banks have grown desperate in their attacks. They want to limit competition because they refuse to change their ways,” Nussle and Berger wrote.

Nussle and Berger cited several data points, including a report from the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, 2022 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reporting data, pandemic lending statistics, and more that show credit unions step up to support consumers and communities that banks have abandoned.

“Credit unions continue to work with lawmakers and regulators on policies that will let our industry help those banks have left behind. Data shows the amount of census tracts considered ‘banking deserts’ have increased 60% since 2012. In addition, a NAFCU-commissioned independent study found that eliminating the credit union tax exemption would have significant negative effects on the country, including a $120 billion reduction in GDP over the next 10 years and nearly 80,000 jobs lost per year in the same period. 

“Banks are fine with that, but credit unions are working hard every day to promote economic prosperity for all Americans,” they wrote.

CUNA and NAFCU will continue to fight to preserve the credit union tax exemption and tout the credit union difference in advocacy efforts across the country.