SAN DIEGO - Calling her term on the NCUA board “one of the most rewarding experiences” of both her professional and personal life, outgoing NCUA Chairman Joann Johnson said she would do it all again if she could–and that includes the painful grilling by the House Ways & Means Committee at which she admits she took a “beating.”
In what were likely her final remarks before a credit union audience, with the exception of an upcoming and last NCUA board meeting, Johnson told NAFCU’s Annual Convention she has tried to use every challenge as a way to create opportunities. In reviewing the high-water “opportunities” of her six-and-a-half years with NCUA, Johnson pointed to:
* Conversions to mutual savings banks. During Johnson’s term the agency challenged and rejected several conversion bids, losing one such high-profile challenge at the court level. The board eventually enacted tough new rules calling for more disclosure. “Throughout that process I tried to keep my eye on the interests of the member and the aura of transparency, so the member has the information to make the best decision possible. I’m proud of the work we did in that area.”
* Private deposit insurance. “Again, transparency for the member was first and foremost.”
* The Ways & Means Committee hearing during which Johnson was challenged to prove credit union claims and could not. “At the Ways & Means Committee hearing I took a beating, there’s no question. But I like to think I took that experience and made it something to build upon. I took a beating because, one, I didn’t have the data for support, and two, it was basically a set up from the banking industry. It was their agenda. I would go through that Ways & Means hearing again if it meant I could come back and go through the process of working for the industry and serving as a regulator.”
* Advancing the agenda of the Bush Administration. “You come into this position as a political appointee. Even in that position there is a thin line. You are coming into an agency with career staff who are going to be there long after you’re gone. What is your job coming in as a political appointee? Certainly it’s to put the face of the Administration on those areas where you have an opportunity, and I think we did that with housing and financial education.”
Johnson said her overall goal was to leave the industry better off than she found it, and she believes she has accomplished that. She said she is particularly proud of the financial strength of CUs and the NCUSIF, despite recent losses.
Moving forward, she said she would like to see credit union boards increase the diversity of their fields of membership and potential FOM, including age, gender, and race. She called on CUs to continue to push for financial literacy.
Johnson, who acknowledged she has spent most of her time in Washington away from her husband in Iowa, said she now plans to return home, and observed, “As we try to live by Golden Rule and do the right thing for the right reasons the credit union philosophy is the heart of all of it. I hope as you go forward that not-for-profit financial structure continues to be the heart and soul of why you are there. As long as you keep your focus on what is in the members’ best interest, you are good to go. And you’ll be good to go for many years.” (c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com
