Newsroom

Representatives from NAFCU-member credit unions, including Kinecta Federal Credit Union, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, and California Credit Union, Thursday joined members of the association's advocacy team to offer industry insights with House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif. During the videoconference meeting, the group discussed a number of key topics, including the various ways credit unions have helped their members, small businesses, and their communities amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Leadership from California credit unions present during the meeting included:

• Kinecta FCU CFO Brett Stubb, Director of Government Relations Marsha Mathias, Vice President of Enterprise Compliance Sergio Del Puerto, and Chief Risk Officer Mark Holbrook;
• SchoolsFirst FCU Vice President of Membership Development and Advocacy Diana Kot and Executive Director of Credit Union Advocacy Josh Smith; and
• California Credit Union Vice President of Community and Legislative Advocacy Marvel Ford and Chief Risk Officer Mark Lovewell.

NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger, Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt, Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler, and Associate Director of Legislative Affairs Sarah Jacobs were also in attendance. 

During the meeting, the group discussed the additional tools and flexibility needed to deal with liquidity and capital issues at credit unions following the surge of deposits at financial institutions during the pandemic. Thaler previously offered several proposals to address these concerns in a letter to the House Financial Services Committee in February.

In addition, the group discussed the need for an exclusion for credit union member business loans made in response to COVID-19 relief from the member business lending (MBL) cap currently in place. Legislation to provide a temporary exemption for these loans was recently introduced; NAFCU has urged Congress to support it.

The meeting also touched on Waters' agenda as chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, and attendees of the meeting offered their appreciation for her continued support of community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and minority depository institutions (MDIs).

NAFCU and its member credit unions will remain engaged with administration officials, lawmakers, and regulators to advocate for additional regulatory relief for the industry. Credit unions can join NAFCU in its advocacy by using the association's Grassroots Action Center to build relationships with lawmakers from their home districts and states, and advocate on behalf of the industry.