DALLAS — The election of Donald Trump may have sparked protests across the country, but one person said a Trump presidency — combined with Republican control of both houses of Congress — could be good news for credit unions.
That's according to Rich Meade, chief operating officer at the Credit Union National Association and chief-of-staff to CUNA CEO Jim Nussle. Meade spoke during the jointly held National Federation of Community Development CUs annual meeting and CUNA's Community Credit Union Conference here, and he offered a glimpse of what this year's election results could mean for the industry.
Trump and Congressional Republicans, Meade observed, campaigned on improving the economy, and if they are able to capitalize on the populist wave sweeping the country, there could be real opportunities for credit unions. Among those, he noted, are the possibilities for challenging the Washington establishment and the status quo by making changes to Dodd-Frank and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
"If we can show that [credit unions] are a gateway to populism, we can capitalize on that on Capitol Hill for sure," said Meade.
While CUNA's first priority is reg reform, Meade indicated that pursuing legislation on data security is also high on CUNA's wish list, along with continuing to protect the credit union tax exemption. One factor that will help in that battle is that CUNA will enter the next congressional session with a very credit union-friendly legislature. CUNA spread nearly $3.1 million among 364 congressional candidates during this campaign, winning 96% of those races. Not only were a host of longtime credit union supporters reelected, but 28 new "credit union champions," as Meade called them, will enter Congress in January.
Congress, however, continues to have basement-level approval ratings, with just 13% of Americans approving of the way the government conducts itself. Combine that with Trump's upside down approval ratings — nearly 60% of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the president-elect right now, said Meade. Those low approvals, however, may make Congress and the new president eager to pass legislation quickly in order to show the public they can get things done, he suggested.
Remaking the NCUA Board
One of Trump's first major tasks will be making appointments — nearly 4,000 of them, Meade said. One of those appointments will be to fill the vacant seat on the National Credit Union Administration Board — a move which Meade said may not happen until sometime in spring. President Obama has nominated John Herrera to the board, and while the nomination was widely hailed throughout the credit union community, the common consensus is the nomination is all but dead at this point. Along with filling a vacant seat, Trump is also likely to reshuffle the board's current make-up, potentially naming Board Member J. Mark McWatters to the chairmanship. Current Chairman Rick Metsger's term expires in April.
Meade pointed out that just because one party holds the presidency and the congressional majority, don't expect a rubber stamp.
"Even though Trump won and it's a Republican Congress, that doesn't mean it's all going to be going in one direction," he said, reminding that the founders structured the government in order to ensure some level of tension between the various branches of government.
Still, he said, "we've got some great opportunities, and we think we can work with this new Congress and new administration on our priorities."
