WASHINGTON-Richard Metsger, the nominee for the NCUA Board, told the Senate Banking Committee last week that if confirmed by the full Senate, he will be committed to reviewing the growing list of existing NCUA rules and regulations with a goal of "updating, simplifying, eliminating and clarifying" them.
"My credit union policy background has only strengthened my ability to critically examine and thoughtfully consider the arguments of all stakeholders before deciding on any regulatory course of action," said Metsger, a former director at OnPoint CU and an ex-state senator who once chaired the Senate's Finance Committee.
Metsger, owner of Parakletos Strategic Public Affairs in Portland, told the Senate panel he first joined then-Portland Teachers CU when he was 19 in order to obtain a $350 loan to buy his first car. He eventually served eight years on the board of the now-$3 billion credit union known as OnPoint.
But Metsger, a former anchorman on local TV, said he recognizes the diversity among credit unions, as he was also a member of one of the state's smallest credit unions. "A large portion of our nation is dominated by small communities that rely on the services of equally small credit unions and community banks as their lifeblood," he stated, promising to acknowledge that diversity in NCUA rulemaking.
The Banking Committee is expected to endorse Metsger's nomination to the full Senate. But confirmation by the full Senate is anything but certain as Republicans continue to slow and even block President Obama's nominations. If confirmed Metsger would serve out a six-year term on the three-person NCUA Board. A second vacancy on the NCUA Board will emerge in August when Michael Fryzel's six-year term expires.
