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As Congress investigates bank abuses, NAFCU highlights CU difference
Following reports of another quarter of record profits for banks and the revelation that the American Bankers Association (ABA) was the secret owner of an anti-credit union website, NAFCU's Dan Berger urged the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations "to examine questionable activities such as this website and ask, what other anti-consumer efforts are the bankers secretly funding?"
"While the bankers continue to have the gall to attack the credit union tax exemption, they conveniently forget to mention how independent analysis has shown that the fines and settlements for wrongdoing by their members have actually amounted to billions and billions of dollars of tax relief over the years for the nation's largest banks," said Berger, NAFCU's president and CEO.
Berger attached a resource highlighting the differences between credit unions and banks, such as:
- there are 10 times as many female CEOs at credit unions than at banks;
- credit unions increased lending to small businesses during the financial crisis when banks pulled back; and
- credit unions have higher satisfaction scores among consumers than banks.
"We hope that the banker groups will change their approach and will instead focus their resources on issues that can help the entire financial services community, such as consumer protection, regulatory relief and creating a national data security standard for those who do not currently have one, including retailers and others who handle consumer financial data," Berger added.
The association will continue to defend the credit union industry – and its growth – against baseless banker attacks. Next week, hundreds of credit unions will be in Washington for NAFCU's Congressional Caucus, where they will meet directly with representatives and senators to share the good work they are doing to provide their members and communities with safe, affordable financial products and services.