Congress Watches Giant CUConversion

WASHINGTON - (02/20/06) – Both sides on the controversialconversion of credit union giant DFCU Financial are lobbyinglawmakers to make sure their side of the ongoing dispute gets afull hearing, Capitol Hill sources said representatives of NCUAhave visited members of DFCU’s homestate Michigan delegation,as well as key members of the Senate Banking and House FinancialServices committees in recent days to stress NCUA’s effortsat giving the credit union’s 165,000 members full disclosureon the charter switch. “We just want to make sure thatmembers (of Congress) understand that it’s our responsibilityto ensure that the members (of DFCU) are provided with fulldisclosures on the implications of the conversion,” an agencysource told The Credit Union Journal. NCUA concerns are similar tothose expressed by a new group of DFCU members who met Friday withRep. John Dingell discuss the controversial conversion bid. TheNCUA lobby comes on the heels of DFCU representatives who aremaking sure lawmakers keep a close eye on the matter. The $1.8billion credit union has hired super-lobbyist Jim Butera to makeits case. Butera, a long-time thrift lobbyist, helped bring lastsummer’s controversy over the conversion of Community CU tothe forefront of Congress, where members pressured NCUA to reversecourse and approve the conversion of the $1.5 billion creditunion.