Musings from the CU Suite

Written by Anthony Demangone, Powered by NAFCU

Compromising is a good thing...until it isn't.

That's so true for many traits and practices.

On one hand, finding common ground and conceding some points for the greater good can move things forward. But on the other, some things should be non-negotiable.

Please take a moment and read these thoughts from Dan Berger.

Sometimes the surest way to log a “win” is to strike a compromise. We saw this play out with enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act and creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. NAFCU and its board vehemently opposed the bureau having any rulemaking authority over credit unions – other groups folded.

This was one compromise that hasn’t worked out well. The CFPB’s reach is ever expanding and CUs are forced to deal with the growing compliance burden.

Case in point: compliance deadlines for the amendments to the mortgage servicing rules, the new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act rules and the bureau’s final rule on prepaid accounts all converge this fall.

All these current and pending rules are why NAFCU has been locked in a fight with the CFPB over how it should not be regulating the credit union industry.

I can tell you that refusing to compromise can be difficult. In opposing the CFPB for credit unions, our board of directors and staff took serious heat from supporters of Dodd-Frank. But as we talked with our members, and as we read the writing on the wall, we knew our stance was the right one.

We didn't cause the crisis, so the CFPB's focus should go elsewhere.

Did we take the right stance? You tell me.

So a question for you all. When do you know that compromising is not the right thing? Where is that dividing line?