ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Lobbying by NCUA Board member Gigi Hyland to be appointed chairman of the three-member panel is growing complicated by Hyland’s ties to the corporate credit union system, for which she once served as chief lobbyist.
"I think she ought to resign from the Board; I think all of them (NCUA Board members) should resign," said Curt Prins, a long-time director of Congressional FCU and CUNA lobbyist who is lobbying Congress for hearings on the corporate meltdown.
During eight years, from 1997 through 2008, Hyland served the corporate credit unions, first as chief corporate lobbyist for CUNA, then as director of the Association of Corporate CUs, then as general counsel for Empire Corporate FCU, which merged with Mid-States Corporate FCU to become Members United Corporate FCU. During that time the corporates lobbied NCUA successfully to ease capital requirements and investment rules in order to help the corporates compete for the business of regular credit unions.
As the only Democrat on the NCUA Board, Hyland has been lobbying the Obama administration to move her to the chair, which is now occupied by Republican Michael Fryzel. However, her ties to the corporate network have jeopardized those chances, according to several sources.
Instead, the NCUA Chairman’s seat is widely expected to go to a successor for Republican Rodney Hood, whose six-year term on the panel expires next month.
Hyland’s six-year term expires on Aug. 2, 2011.
Hyland declined a request for comment.
