MONTEREY, Calif. – The NCUA must take into account the different types of credit union charters during its data collecting initiative, said new California Credit Union League President Bill Cheney during the opening session of the league's Big Valley Educational Conference. Cheney covered a number of topics during the session, as part of his first league management report as the group's president. Single sponsor credit unions, industrial-based credit unions, multiple sponsor credit unions and community charters all have different memberships in terms of the status of the people they serve, Cheney cautioned; therefore, member income data must be compared according to charter type, rather than used to make generalized assumptions across the board. "You can't look at Toyota Credit Union, for example, which only serves well-paid employees of Toyota, and compare their members' income to that of a community credit union, because Toyota is not chartered to serve a community. The NCUA must take that into account as they answer questions from the Ways & Means Committee," Cheney said. Shifting closer to home, Cheney said league leaders will meet with potential California Department of Financial Institutions Commissioner Preston DuFouchard Wednesday, March 15. DuFouchard has been mentioned as a likely nominee by Governor Schwarzenegger to replace acting DFI commissioner Brian Yuen. Although DuFouchard has past ties to the banking industry as an attorney for Bank of America, CCUL Executive Vice President Matt Davidson said he is not aware of any anti-credit union statements made by the potential DFI chief. "We're just going to meet with him and get to know him, and go from there," Davidson said after the session. Cheney also addressed complaints about the DFI taking too long to process paperwork, particularly applications, due to insufficient staffing. "The DFI has tried to solve the problem internally by requesting additional staff positions in their budget, and the league supports that," Cheney said. Turning to the political realm, Cheney said the league has no plans to introduce any state legislation this year. There are some bills that have been introduced in the California legislature that may affect credit unions, he said, including proposals to mandate flood insurance for homeowners and several measures addressing banks charging fees for cashing paychecks. The Nevada legislature, which meets every other year, will not meet in 2006. Cheney closed his report by encouraging those in attendance to educate and mentor the industry's future leaders. "People like Dave (Chatfield) and many others planning to retire soon take a piece of the movement with them when they leave, so we've got to find our next leaders and educate them. I see the league playing a very critical role in that," Cheney said. -

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