The 2016 election cycle has been anything but ordinary, and donations from financial institutions' political action committees (PACs) have followed a similarly erratic trajectory this year.
For example, despite favoring Democrat Clinton over Republican Trump in the presidential election, for-profit banks are nonetheless overwhelmingly contributing to Republicans over Democrats in down-ballot congressional races across the country.
Indeed, roughly 73% of donations from commercial banking PACs are going to Republicans in this election cycle, the biggest tilt toward one party by the banking industry in recent memory, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP).
But what about credit unions, which share some of the same legislative priorities as banks?
Show Me the Money
According to
The top individual credit union contributor this cycle is the SchoolsFirst FCU of Santa Ana, Calif. The $12.4 billion-asset institution has shelled out a little more than $30,000 to candidates.
The division of funds going to Republicans and Democrats can vary wildly. For example, according to CRP data CUNA has donated 54.5% of its funds to the GOP during this election cycle, compared with 45.5% to the Democrats. NAFCU has thus far favored Republicans to the tune of 62.5% versus 37.5% for Democrats.
For individual credit unions, the profile of party donations can be extremely skewed, due largely to local political realities. For example, CRP data indicates that Coastal Federal Credit Union of Raleigh, N,C., has overwhelmingly favored Republicans this year (97.6% vs, 2.4% for Democrats).
In contrast, another North Carolina-based institution, the $2 billion-asset Truliant Federal Credit Union of Winston-Salem, has favored Democratic candidates (77.3% to 22.7%). (Truliant has given out a total of $9,700 in this cycle).
But these numbers can shift from election to election.
CRP data shows that during the 2012 election cycle, credit unions (or their PACs and advocates), donated just over $4 million, with 55% going to Republican candidates and 45% to Democrats. That year, CUNA donated more than $2.7 million to federal campaigns, making it the top contributor by far.
"However, the industry's party preference has flip-flopped many times," CRP cautioned. "As recently as the 2010 election cycle, the credit union industry contributed only 47% to Republicans and 53% to Democrats." (At that time, Democrats controlled the House)
Historically, credit unions have placed an emphasis on preserving their tax-exempt status and on updating the ways they can serve their members, said John McKechnie, senior partner for Total Spectrum and former director of public and congressional affairs at NCUA, as well as a former CUNA official. "Those [issues] haven't changed, and probably never will," he added.
Political lobbying – which differs from making financial contributions to candidates – also falls under the purview of credit unions. CRP data reveals that in 2012, credit unions spent in excess of $9.2 million on lobbying, "mostly on issues involving banking, finance, and taxes." Of that amount, more than $5.1 million was disbursed by CUNA, while NAFCU spent more than $2.7 million. Hence, the two leading credit union advocacy groups accounted for a whopping 85% of all lobbying activities that year.
A View from A Credit Union
Coastal Federal Credit Union, a $2.4-billion institution based in Raleigh, N.C., has had its own PAC since 1999.
Joe Mecca, manager of marketing strategy & communications at Coastal FCU, said that his credit union's financial contributions have been "balanced to match our representation in Congress." But, as noted above, Mecca said that Coastal's PAC has been contributing to Republicans more than Democrats since 2010, when the GOP took over the majority of North Carolina congressional seats. Indeed, currently, 10 of 13 North Carolina House representatives and both senators are Republicans. "We've been bipartisan," he asserted. "Any imbalance in our contributions is a reflection of the number of seats each party holds, along with committee assignments."
Mecca noted that party affiliations are largely meaningless.
"Sympathy toward your issues is always going to be a large factor in determining your support," he stated. "But so is influence. We have representatives who aren't necessarily in line with our positions, but who hold influence in the committees that address our issues. They're just as much a focus of our political outreach. Continual education about our issues can have a positive impact over time, and we've certainly seen elected officials shift their stances toward being more credit union-friendly over time."
He added that Coastal FCU hasn't taken sides in the presidential race. "Congressional and Senate campaigns have always been our main focus," he said.
Aside from regulations and compliance – the bread-and-butter of credit union advocacy – Coastal FCU places a heavy focus on data security. "A large portion of our political outreach involves educating our candidates about the costs and inconveniences associated with data breaches, particularly in regard to cards," Mecca said. "Helping them understand how a merchant data breach affects our members."
