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Credit unions learned more about defense-related issues and how the industry can better serve military members during Tuesday's Defense Credit Union Summit at NAFCU's Annual Conference and Solutions Expo. The summit was hosted by NAFCU and the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC).

NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger began the summit noting credit unions' strong relationships with servicemembers. Tony Hernandez, DCUC's president and CEO, then detailed his organization's advocacy for defense credit unions on Capitol Hill and partnership with NAFCU and others in the credit union industry.

Among the issues discussed by Hernandez:

• the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, including how it applies to National Guard members on federal order and the process to obtain the 6 percent interest rate cap;
• guaranteed acceptance protection (GAP) insurance under the Military Lending Act (MLA);
• data security and merchant accountability;
• the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA);
• veteran member business lending; and
• efforts to ensure the financial well-being of military families.

Also during NAFCU's Defense Credit Union Summit:

• Lt. Colonel Kevin Sweeney shared five tips to keep credit unions focused on their mission and effective in their execution: preparation, passion, focus, team and confidence. Within each of those, Sweeney stressed continually striving for improvement, taking advantage of opportunities, staying on target, leadership and loyalty, and belief in one's self and each other.
• a panel of NAFCU senior leadership – featuring Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt, Vice President of Regulatory Compliance Brandy Bruyere and Director of Regulatory Affairs Ann Kossachev, moderated by Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler – provided an update on the association's current advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill and with regulators, and also answered questions from summit attendees.

Stay tuned to NAFCU Today for daily conference coverage. For up-to-the-minute coverage, download the new conference app, sponsored by Allied Solutions, and follow #NAFCUAnnual on Twitter.