CUNA Chief Economist Bill Hampel said he's not surprised so many large credit unions have told the Credit Union Times they're not interested in recapitalizing the corporate network.
The CUNA/NAFCU Corporate Credit Union Restructure Policy Task Force assumed as much when they crafted their recommendations, he said. Those who contributed to the September 3 report understood there was no chance credit unions would recapitalize corporates as currently structured.
However, Hampel said the corporate network has developed "useful talent and expertise," and it would be nice to keep it exclusively available to credit unions. He also referred to corporate payment systems as an "effective and efficient utility", and said he hopes the credit union industry will maintain it.
"We think there's a good chance the corporate network will survive, but ultimately, whoever comes up with the new plan must present something with significant changes and enough appeal to make credit unions want to participate," Hampel said. "And, they'll have to overcome a lot of anger and skepticism, too."
