Banker `Hypocrisy' Cited at Louisiana League GAC

BATON ROUGE, La. – The banking industry’s attack on the Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act, now joined in by Louisiana bankers, brought charges of “hypocricy” during the annual Governmental Affairs Conference of the Louisiana Credit Union League. Citing a May 20 legislative newsletter of the Louisiana Bankers Association, John McKechnie, CUNA senior vice president of governmental affairs, said “Louisiana bankers go after CURIA on one page” of the alert and on the next page “they are extolling another quarter of record profits” and they “seem completely unaware of the irony.” But others “won’t be,” pledged McKechnie, a speaker at the GAC conference. The bankers’ update, entitled “Stop Credit Union Bill” was mentioned in a speech by Anne Cochran, president/CEO of the League. In the update, the bankers said that a defeat of CURIA is vital because otherwise “we’ll never level the playing field between banks and the large, fast growing community credit unions.” During the Louisiana GAC meeting, CU executives got a chance to lobby the floor of the Senate and House plus take part in a reception sponsored by the Pulse EFT Association which 36 Louisiana legislators attended. “The participation by our state legislators and so many of our credit union volunteers and professionals was incredible,” said Connie Major, vice president of governmental affairs It is heartening, she said, to see that CUs seem at least “to really understand how important it is that they be involved in order to advance the movement.”