Mica outlines efforts during CUNA Board meeting at ACUC&E

LAS VEGAS (6/5/07)--President/CEO Dan Mica Monday outlined the Credit Union National Association's (CUNA) efforts on behalf of the credit union movement during his report to CUNA's Board of Directors Monday.

Efforts include building cosponsors on Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act (CURIA), now at 95, and getting more visibility for credit unions in mainstream press to provide a different voice than bankers on industry issues.

He also commented on the recently released report by the Government Accounting Office's (GAO) and its findings on the tax benefits banks get by becoming Subchapter S corporations; and said CUNA would turn to litigation on behalf of credit unions faced with the unrelated business income tax's (UBIT).

CUNA will hit home the findings on Subchapter S corporations discussed by the GAO report, he said, adding, "We're not going to let that go. We will pound our message continually over the next six to eight weeks." Bank profits' growth exceeded 7% for the past 10 years, according to the GAO report. "Banks are misleading Congress," Mica said, adding, "It's time Congress asks them about the information they're providing," he said.

Although the Internal Revenue Service's technical memos on UBIT apply to individual credit unions, not the system as a whole, CUNA is monitoring the incidents. "Our next move will be litigation," he said, "and we have a good chance of winning in the courts."

Credit unions' advocacy is strong, with 100% of 50 states having Hike the Hill programs last year, and 32 Hike the Hills already scheduled this year, he said.

Mica noted that a recent roundtable showed CEOs are concerned about the future of credit unions in terms of membership growth, hostile takeovers and mergers, issues of compliance burden related to the Bank Secrecy Act, and more.

CUNA Chairman Allan Kemp McMorris' report outlined several successes. "CUNA continues to advance the ball on financial literacy." Its Stash Your Cash program saw $10 million deposits made by 72,000 young members during National Credit Union Youth Week's Saving Challenge, he noted.

Credit unions participated in the revamping of the National Endowment of Financial Education's curriculum standards, McMorris said. CUNA will offer soon a new web-based financial resource called Money Mix to address needs of young adult members and other programs.

The board heard several reports, including those from Juri Valdov, chairman of the Financial Literacy Task Force and CEO of Northwest FCU, Herndon, Va.; and from Texas Credit Union League President/CEO Dick Ensweiler, chairman of the Membership Growth Task Force.

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