D'Amours urges CU accountability legislation

WASHINGTON (11/4/05)—Former National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman Norman D'Amours used his five minutes to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee Thursday to urge Congress to require more accountability from credit unions.

The committee was conducting a hearing to examine the tax status of credit unions, but much of the discussion by Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) and some witnesses revolved around credit union transparency.

Former NCUA Board Chairman Norm D'Amours prepares to testify on the third panel during yesterday's House Ways and Means Committee hearing. He told the committee that, as NCUA Chairman, had pushed credit unions to accept more accountability in documenting their service to members of modest means, and insisted that credit unions had resisted all of his attempts. (Photo provided by CUNA)

D'Amours told the committee that as NCUA chairman he had pushed credit unions to accept more accountability in documenting their service to members of modest means and credit unions resisted.

He said he believes that credit unions would continue to resist voluntary efforts and accruing documentation would only happen if such a requirement was imposed on credit unions by Congress.

Even when chairman of the NCUA, D'Amours was sometimes critical of the credit unions he served to regulate. He has in the past claimed that credit unions have strayed from their cooperative mission, and repeated that charge during the hearing.

D'Amours was joined on his panel of witnesses by two other credit union critics and one credit union representative from New Orleans, La.

John Taylor, president/CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition echoed D'Amours calling for a requirement that credit unions document their service to members of modest means. He argued that the "next step" in the evolution of credit unions is applying CRA to "mainstream credit unions," thereby requiring these credit unions to abide to an affirmative and continual obligation of meeting the credit needs of low- and moderate-income communities.

Gordon V. Karels, associate dean, College of Business Administration, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, also on the panel, claimed that there is limited evidence that credit union member have been the direct beneficiaries of the tax exemption.

And in the middle of critics, Constance Kennelly, chief executive officer, Tulane-Loyola CU, New Orleans, La., told the House committee members that a from a member's perspective, a credit union represents caring and thoughtful service, even through the most difficult of times such as that recently caused by Hurricane Katrina.

She noted that members may be unaware of the size of their credit union, but they care deeply about the personal service, convenience and responsiveness. She added that while Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath were extraordinary circumstances, the member-oriented approach of credit unions throughout the country allowed her credit union to be able to provide a lifeline to members and fulfill the CUs' stated mission of taking care of the membership one member at a time.

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