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December 10, 2020

NAFCU, member CUs meet with Senate Banking's Ranking Member Brown

hillSeveral representatives from NAFCU-member credit unions Wednesday joined members of the association's advocacy team for a videoconference meeting with Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. The group thanked Brown for his work with committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, on reforms to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/anti-money laundering (AML) regime, leading the way for its inclusion in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and discussed a number of industry issues.

NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger, Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler, and Associate Director of Legislative Affairs Sarah Jacobs attended the meeting, alongside leadership from Ohio-based credit unions, including:

  • Atomic Credit Union President and CEO Tom Griffiths;
  • CSE Federal Credit Union President and CEO Stan Barnes;
  • CINFED Credit Union President and CEO Jay Sigler; and
  • Superior Credit Union President and CEO Phil Buell.

The Senate is expected to vote on the House-passed NDAA today, which includes the NAFCU-sought language to make BSA/AML reforms and would require companies to disclose their true beneficial ownership information.

On coronavirus relief, the credit unions shared their experiences helping their members through the pandemic and the paycheck protection program (PPP). The PPP's authorization expired Aug. 8 with roughly $134 billion of allotted funds remaining and NAFCU has been working with Congress on improvements, including reopening the program and simplified forgiveness.

The group also discussed issues related to housing finance reform – another top priority for NAFCU.

NAFCU and its member credit unions will remain engaged with administration officials, lawmakers, and regulators to advocate for additional regulatory relief for the industry. See the 12 issues NAFCU has urged policymakers to take immediate action on.