Over the past 50 years, the credit union industry has loggedsome great wins and come through some strong challenges. Frompushing back on tax proposals to protecting credit union federalshare insurance and fighting regulators' efforts to treat MainStreet credit unions the same as Wall Street banks, the industryhas stood strong.

Of course, the industry has also had a strong ally the past 50years. It was 50 years ago that a group of forward-looking leadersdecided to establish the National Association of Federal CreditUnions. Now known as the National Association of Federally-InsuredCredit Unions, NAFCU has shown time and again its strength andresolve to provide credit unions the very best in federal advocacy,education and compliance assistance.

And it plans to continue doing the same for the next 50 yearsand beyond.

NAFCU works tirelessly to further regulatory relief provisionsand ensure credit unions maintain their tax-exempt status. It is afinancially strong and well-positioned association with anefficient and productive governance model and operating structure.Furthermore, it employs an outstanding team of professionals whosesole focus is on providing credit unions with extreme memberservice every single day.

Because of its intense member focus over the past 50 years, andas a result of the advocacy efforts of credit unions and their morethan 107 million member-owners, NAFCU has strengthened creditunions' position in the financial services arena.

I am proud of the accomplishments NAFCU and credit unions haveamassed over the past 50 years. Here are some of thehighlights:

• The campaign to establish the NCUA as an independent federalagency, focused solely on credit unions;
• The creation of the NCUSIF to protect credit uniondeposits;
• The passage of legislation legalizing credit union sharedrafts;
• The preservation of credit unions' federal corporate income taxexemption; and
• The passage, won by a joint industry campaign that attractedsupporters from all quarters, of the Credit Union Membership AccessAct in 1998.

Even in recent years that have been filled with politicalgridlock, NAFCU has scored positive changes:

• Revisions to the definitions of net worth and equity ratiounder the Federal Credit Union Act;
• Expanded credit union investment authority to help fightinterest rate risk; and
• A one-year delay of FASB's “current expected credit loss”standard to fiscal years beginning after Dec. 15, 2021.

NAFCU stood alone in pushing for some of these achievements,just as it stood as the only financial services trade associationto oppose CFPB authority over credit unions under the Dodd-FrankAct.

NAFCU staff is daily pushing for an easing of the credit unionindustry's regulatory burden, attempting to win national datasecurity standards for all that hold consumers' personal financialdata (akin to the standards already upheld by credit unions) and,among other things, ensuring the preservation of the credit unionfederal corporate tax exemption.

During this golden anniversary year, the NAFCU staff and boardare working with steady resolve to ensure the association continuesto add value to the industry and remains relevant into the next 50years. This means working to create a positive legislative andregulatory environment that will allow credit unions to grow andthrive.

We know there will be some bumps in the road. We will certainlyface more change and new challenges, but that is where NAFCUshines.

NAFCU arose from a need to provide a voice in Washington toadvance the concerns of federal credit unions. The association'sfirst members wanted more breathing room, more powers and betterprotections.

NAFCU's early wins of modernizing the Federal Credit Union Actthrough the establishment of the NCUA and share insurance forfederal credit unions required a steady focus and unwaveringdetermination from beginning to end.

This focus and determination have marked numerousaccomplishments of this association throughout its 50-year history.For example, in 1991, NAFCU initially stood alone in opposing aTreasury Department proposal that would have required credit unionsto write down their 1% deposit in the NCUSIF and placed a Treasuryrepresentative on the NCUA board.

NAFCU took this action in the face of some stiff opposition fromother groups and regulatory bodies because it knew doing otherwisewould not have been in the best interests of its members. NAFCU,working with credit unions, advocated before Congress, Treasury andother regulators to protect credit unions' independent federalregulator and share insurance fund.

Absent this action, support for the Treasury proposal among thelobbying and regulatory community would have been unanimous, andcredit unions' federal regulatory governing and insurancestructures would have been changed in a major way.

NAFCU was acutely focused on what credit unions said they neededmost in the beginning, and it remains just as focused, andresponsive, on federal issues affecting credit unions today.

With a board of directors comprised of credit union CEOs and afriendly, responsive and knowledgeable staff, I can say withcertainty that NAFCU's golden year, which we are celebrating inHawaii, is going to be just that. I am equally looking forward tobeginning our next 50 years, which I am sure will be marked by moresuccesses, more growth and even greater security for this industryand the members it serves.

Richard L. Harris is Chair of NAFCUand President/CEO of Caltech Employees FCU. He can bereached at 818-949-5601.