Credit Union Lobby Not On Same Insurance Page

It sure would help the credit union cause if the disparate trade groups were singing from the same music sheet. The latest fissure in the credit union lobby is over a proposal to allow privately insured credit unions to join the FHLB System, as all federally insured credit unions have been able to do since 1989.

All privately insured credit unions-about 190 covered by Ohio-based American Share Insurance (ASI) and another 150 or so covered by a private insurer in Puerto Rico-are state (or locally) chartered. NAFCU is opposed to having the provision included in the pending regulatory relief bill. Its representatives insist this does not mean they necessarily oppose the provisions, they just don't want it in the bill.

Such splits within CUs have the effect of giving pause to some lawmakers, who wonder, "If the credit unions can't agree among themselves on this issue, how can I be sure of its merits?"

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