On April 17, two of the three members of the NCUA board were fired by email in the middle of the night. These firings were wrong and put the entire credit union movement in an uncertain place. My thoughts at the time have not changed today:
"These firings dismantled NCUA leadership under the cover of night. Only in the light of day will we find out the extent of damage from this irresponsible and reckless move. Our league will continue to shine the light and protect our credit unions at all costs. Leagues must do everything they can to protect all the credit unions within their states. This is their highest priority and best use. The number one way to protect credit unions is to uphold a stable regulatory regime that lags appropriately behind popular sentiment or political whimsey. A stable regulatory system creates financial stability across our entire financial services sector."
The judicial system has now shed some daylight on what happened and, last week, a federal judge ruled that not only were these firings morally wrong, but they were also illegal. With that, Board Members Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka were reinstated and attended the July 24 board meeting. While a stay has been granted and an appeals process will take place, temporarily taking Harper and Otsuka off the board again, this decision confirms what we in Connecticut knew in April. The NCUA must be a nonpartisan, impartial regulator that is not motivated by politics but rather by what is best for the credit union industry and the 143 million Americans and nearly 1 million Connecticut residents who rely on them.
As your League, we will always fight for a fair and level playing field for credit unions. Usually that fight involves efforts from other financial services industries to squash the Credit Union Advantage and stifle competition. It is with great concern that we find ourselves in the position of fighting for our regulator, but this is today’s reality. While the League continues to unequivocally condemn these actions, we also reaffirm our commitment to work for a healthy, stable, and independent NCUA. We will remain vigilant and ready to carry this message to our national partners, federal delegation, and anyone who will listen.
As always,
Bruce |
