VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.-Despite speculation to the contrary, Chartway FCU said last week its position calling for one national CU trade association was not related to a CFCU board member's loss in a race for a NAFCU board seat.
After Chartway announced its disaffiliation from NAFCU and it's desire to see just one trade group, there were rumblings that this was merely sour grapes after Chartway FCU Director Lou Gull failed to win a seat on the NAFCU board. But Chartway CEO Ron Burniske said nothing could be further from the truth.
"This isn't the first time we have brought this up," Burniske said. "We tried to push this issue of having one, united voice for all credit unions when Ken Robinson was still the CEO of NAFCU. What it really comes down to is we have people asking 'who really represents you?'"
Burniske said that now that there are only about 7,000 CU charters, compared to more than 20,000 some 20 years ago, it is all the more critical that credit unions not dilute their collective voice on Capitol Hill.
"The compliance burden that continues to grow could force small credit unions right out of existence," he said. "It's crucial that we speak with one voice."
Chartway didn't choose CUNA over NAFCU because Gull failed to win a board seat at NAFCU, Burniske said. Indeed, one of the things Gull campaigned on was the need for change in the way CUs are represented on Capitol Hill.
"The fact of the matter is, both of the trade associations are more reactive than proactive, and that needs to change," Burniske said. "We invited both Fred (Becker, CEO of NAFCU) and Bill (Cheney, CEO of CUNA) down to talk with us before we made our decision. We went through a process. When we asked when was the last time they had fathered proactive legislation for credit unions, basically, neither of them has, it's always been in reaction to something else. If Lou had won that board seat on NAFCU, we'd still be having this conversation, it just might not have happened so soon. We'd have given him a chance to help make change from within before going this route."
And it's not just an issue of diluting credit unions' collective voice-it's also about diluting credit unions' money. "It's expensive to pay dues to two trade associations, and it's even more expensive to get legislation through," Burniske suggested. "All credit unions, regardless of type of charter need to be represented."
