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In August, CUNA and NAFCU announced their intent to merge to form into a single, powerful entity – America's Credit Unions – to serve credit unions more efficiently and effectively, without redundancies. The vote on the proposed merger opened Aug. 28; members have until 5 p.m. Eastern Nov. 1 to submit their ballots. Additional details of the proposed merger and FAQs can be found online.

In addition, NAFCU is preparing for its Congressional Caucus, happening Sept. 10-13 in Washington, D.C. Credit unions can register to hear from a fantastic lineup of speakers and lobby their lawmakers on key credit union issues. 

Watch NAFCU’s latest update video as NAFCU Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Greg Mesack provides need-to-know information from August.

Worth Noting 

·       CUNA and NAFCU signed a letter of intent to merge and form America’s Credit Unions. 

·       NAFCU Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Greg Mesack wrote an op-ed for CU Insight discussing NAFCU’s legislative priorities for the rest of 2023. 

·       Register now for NAFCU’s Congressional Caucus. Mastercard and Visa have partnered with NAFCU to provide free registrations for credit union CEOs and one additional member from their institution, while funds last. More information is available online.

·       Mesack sat down with NCUA Board Member Rodney Hood for a Q&A. 

Meetings 

·       August 3: NAFCU met with the SBA’s Office of Advocacy on automated valuation models (AVMs).

Bills 

·       Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont., Mark Warner, D-Va., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., introduced S. 2674, the CDFI Fund Transparency Act. This legislation would require the CDFI Fund Director to testify annually before the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee on the CDFI Fund’s operations. NAFCU previously wrote to Sen. Daines in support of this legislation when it was offered as an amendment during a Senate Banking Committee markup and also wrote in support of the House version of this legislation, H.R. 3161.

Legislative Letters 

·       August 24: NAFCU wrote to Congress in response to attacks on the credit union industry made by a banking trade association to defend the economic value of the credit union tax exemption, demonstrate credit unions’ efforts to open branches in communities that banks have abandoned, and highlight credit unions’ continued commitment to serving their members in contrast to enforcement actions against banks for defrauding their customers. 

·       July 28: NAFCU, CUNA, and the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) wrote to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., in support of Senate Amendment #206 to the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would promote improved financial literacy training. The amendment was not included in the Senate-passed NDAA. 

Comment Letters 

·       August 28: NAFCU wrote to the NCUA in support of proposed changes to the interpretive ruling and policy statement regarding the Minority Depository Institution Preservation Program (MDI Program), including a new examination approach that recognizes MDIs’ unique nature. 

·       August 21: NAFCU wrote to the NCUA, CFPB, FHFA, and other agencies in response to a joint proposed rule on quality control standards for AVMs. NAFCU advocated for a principles-based approach for the legally required control factors and opposed the inclusion of a duplicative factor on nondiscrimination compliance. 

·       August 18: NAFCU and other financial services trade associations wrote to the CFPB to request a delay in the implementation of the Section 1071 final rule for all covered financial institutions in response to a district court ruling that stayed the rule for members of the American Bankers Association. 

·       August 14: NAFCU wrote to the FHFA in response to a request for input on the Enterprise Regulatory Capital Framework and the single-family mortgage pricing framework. NAFCU advocated for reduced guarantee fees for credit union mortgages and the reinstatement of the bulk seasoned transactions window. 

·       August 9: NAFCU and other trade associations wrote to the FCC, urging the Commission to protect legitimate servicing calls in its efforts to combat spoofed numbers and robocalls. 

·       August 7: NAFCU and CUNA wrote to the CFPB to request a delay in the implementation of the Section 1071 final rule for all covered financial institutions in response to a district court ruling that stayed the rule for members of the American Bankers Association. 

·       July 31: NAFCU and other trade associations wrote to the FCC to request greater flexibility in processing consumers’ revocations of consent to receive robocalls and robotexts. 

·       July 31: NAFCU, DCUC, TruStage, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars submitted comments to the NCUA in support of the proposed rule to add 501(c)(19) veterans’ organizations to the agency’s “qualified charity” definition and to request additional clarity in the definition’s terminology. These groups previously wrote to the NCUA in November 2022 to request this change, and NAFCU and DCUC wrote again to the NCUA in May 2023 in support of this proposal.