It won't have the drama or high profile of a Supreme Court confirmation, but the Senate Banking Committee was scheduled to hold a hearing July 22 on the nomination of Deborah Matz as NCUA Board chairman.
According to several sources on Capitol Hill and among the trade associations, there have been no objections raised that could delay her nomination.
Matz, who was nominated last month by President Obama, would bring considerable experience to the head of the agency at a trying time for the credit union movement. She served as an NCUA Board member from 2002-2005 and executive vice president of Andrews Federal Credit Union in Suitland, Md.. from 2006-2008, spending part of her time there as acting CEO.
She would be the second board member (in addition to Board Member Gigi Hyland) who has worked in the credit union industry, but it has been more than a year since she left her job at Andrews FCU. The law allows only one person on the board with "recent" experience at a credit union, which is usually defined as less than one year.
Before joining the NCUA, Matz worked on Capitol Hill and as a senior official of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
While an NCUA Board member, one of her initiatives was the Partnering and Leadership Success program, which was a vehicle for credit unions to share ideas for improving member services and reaching out to all people within a field of membership. She was also especially concerned with the health of small credit unions.
The 58-year-old, New York City native would receive the chairman's annual salary of $162,900 if confirmed to her new position. The other two members receive annual salaries of $153,200.
NCUA Chairman Michael E. Fryzel would become a regular board member; his term expires in 2013.
--cmarx@cutimes.com
