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Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee and a key architect of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, announced Monday he will not run for reelection in 2012.

Frank, elected to the House in 1980, is serving his 16th consecutive term in Congress representing Massachusetts' 4th district. He has served on theFinancial Services Committee since 1981 andchaired it during the 110th and 111th Congresses. Frank was a cosponsor of the Credit Union Membership Access Act, which preserved NCUA's authority to permit multiple-group charters for federal credit unions.

NAFCU President Fred Becker, in a statement, said Frank has been "an extraordinary presence" in Congress.

"During his tenure and recent chairmanship, he demonstrated a thoughtful and meticulous approach to the issues at hand," the NAFCU president said. "This has indeed been true when working with NAFCU and credit unions. He has been a steadfast and outspoken champion of credit unions. We wish him well as he concludes his illustrious legislative career and in his future endeavors."

In speeches before NAFCU's Congressional Caucus, Frank has always pointed to the member-owned nature of credit unions in dismissing talk of taxing the cooperatives, noting that "votes count more than money."

Frank's current term continues through next year's session of the 112th Congress. In a press conference, he said redistricting in his state was one of the factors in his decision not to run again. He won his last reelection with 54 percent of the vote.