WASHINGTON-The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to pay increased attention to financial literacy issues among members of the military in 2012, and that could mean new compliance issues for credit unions.
At a forum hosted by the CFPB here, the highest-ranking members of each branch of military discussed the ongoing need to help members of the military learn how to handle their finances. The Defense Credit Union Council had several representatives on hand for a panel discussion at the CFPB event, and DCUC's Roland "Arty" Arteaga told Credit Union Journal he understands the concern-and the challenges of addressing that concern.
"What I heard them say is that their respective troops need help," he said. "And [credit unions who serve the military] are ready and willing to offer it, and already are. But we don't just impose ourselves. We need to offer that help when it works for them, how it works for them."
The enemy, in this case, is time. "Look, when you stop and think about it, they're not joining the military to get financial education, they're here to fight our nation's wars, and they're being trained for that, and that has to be the priority," said Arteaga. "I think all of us recognize that. When they are on base, they are often too busy being trained to defend this nation and how to stay alive while doing it to be focused on their finances."
Education Not A One-Time Deal
One of the keys, Arteaga suggested, is to try to provide that education throughout their career instead of just at the beginning, which is how it is traditionally done. "I really think if the time was available we could make some real in-roads, but the priority has to be their military training," he said. "Maybe if we can focus on military spouses we would make more progress."
But there, too, it's a question of time. "Spouses are holding down the fort at home, and in today's economy, many military spouses are having to go to work, too," Arteaga observed. "So they're raising the family and working, essentially on their own, while the military member is deployed, so where's the time for financial education? It's a huge challenge.
That's one of the reasons why DCUC sponsored the publication of the Kiplinger BBB financial guide back in 2009 and is also sponsoring the updated version that is scheduled to be released in time for Military Saves week in February.
