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Mesack blasts bankers for hypocrisy in letter to lawmakers
In response to another baseless attack from a group of community bank associations, NAFCU Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Greg Mesack highlighted the hypocrisy of their arguments in a letter to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., and Ranking Member Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
The bankers called on McHenry and Waters to hold an oversight hearing of the NCUA, arguing the agency “routinely oversteps statutory authority, circumvents the will of Congress, and fails to hold the industry accountable.” The bankers also made several false claims related to credit unions serving underserved communities, bank-credit union mergers, and interest rate caps.
Mesack set the record straight – touting credit unions’ commitment to providing consumers and Main Street small businesses with access to safe, affordable financial products and services and stepping up to serve areas left behind by banks.
“Banks have averaged closing almost 200 branches per month since the beginning of 2020, according to a study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition,” Mesack wrote. “In 2022 alone, banks closed over 1,500 branches while during the same time credit unions actually ADDED branches. Bankers have no problem abandoning Main Street America but will fight tooth and nail to keep credit unions from filling the void left by the banks. This letter shows that they clearly care more about profits than consumers.”
While bankers continue to oppose mergers with credit unions, Mesack pointed out there were only 16 credit union-bank mergers in 2022 compared to 163 bank mergers. He also explained that bank customers must fall within the credit unions’ established field of membership.
“Once you look past the community bankers’ hysteria, you will see that in almost all cases the merger allows a community to keep a trusted financial institution from closing its doors,” Mesack said. “Consolidation is happening in both the bank and credit union industries, and we urge the Committee to examine the growing regulatory burdens that are forcing these changes. The crushing burden of increasingly complex regulations is forcing small institutions to either close or merge because they cannot afford the costs associated with compliance. This harms the financial system by decreasing choice and competition.”
Read Mesack’s full letter. NAFCU will continue to tout the credit union difference and fight against attacks on the industry.