Credit Unions Join League for Virtual Meeting with Congresswoman Spanberger

Credit union advocates from Apple Federal Credit Union, CommonWealth One Federal Credit Union, Topside Federal Credit Union, and UVA Community Credit Union joined the League in a virtual meeting with U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-7th) on April 28.

During the meeting, the advocates on the call highlighted the many ways their credit unions operate differently from for-profit banks, including a focus on financial education, support of their local communities, and a not-for-profit philosophy that puts people first.

We also discussed our top federal legislative priorities, including:

• Removing barriers that hinder credit unions’ ability to serve underserved communities;
• Opposition to banks having rent-free branches or facilities on military installations;
• Opposition to changes related to the current credit card interchange systems;
• Concerns that member-friendly overdraft protection programs at credit unions are in danger;
• Our opposition to additional third-party vendor examination authority for the National Credit Union Administration. We maintain the agency currently has broad authority to adjust the due diligence expectations credit unions must satisfy when engaging third-party vendors.

Congresswoman Spanberger asked for additional information regarding credit unions' ability to serve underserved communities in her district, as well as the reasoning behind NCUA's request for added third-party examination authority.

We thank those who joined us for the meeting and we will continue to reach out to credit unions to participate in meetings next month with our Congressional Delegation.