LAS VEGAS — Economic issues are prompting state and national legislative efforts that could pose some new challenges for human resources professionals, one expert suggested.
Bob Arnould, senior vice president of government affairs for the California and Nevada CU Leagues, offered attendees of the CUNA Human Resources/Training and Development Council annual meeting a legislative update at the conference recently.
He said the events on Wall Street that triggered the economic meltdown demonstrate the lack of control for brokers and traders after years of deregulation. And that spells a brand new legislative and regulatory era for all financial institutions, he said, predicting "there will be substantial re-regulation."
In the wake of the conservatorship of U.S. Central and WesCorp, Arnould said 478 federally insured credit unions in California and Nevada will experience negative ROA for 2009.
The two states will see a 360% increase in the number of credit unions that fall under PCA requirements. Looking forward, Arnould said the Leagues and other trade groups will be watching carefully as banking committees in both federal houses will be examining regulation.
"Our job is to make sure the law of unintended consequences does not hurt credit unions," he said. "We want to make sure housing bills are fair to credit unions, as some of them began doing loan modifications without being asked by the government."
