The task force is slated to begin work later this month with a face-to-face meeting at NCUA's Alexandria, Va. headquarters. A date has yet to be set.

"We intend to hold meetings around the country," Kohn said. Hyland will conduct a series of regional "town hall" meetings and other individual meetings to obtain input from credit unions, leagues, and other interested organizations. Additionally, whenever Board Member Hyland makes appearances, this will be a sure topic of discussion.

The task force was borne out of last November's Member Service Assessment Pilot Program: A Study of Federal Credit Union Service, NCUA's pilot collection of data on federal credit union service to those of modest means as requested by then-House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.). The Government Accountability Office compiled a related report as well. The task force was established to uncover a better understanding of NCUA's outreach efforts and evaluate them.

"The deliberations of NCUA staff as well as the input of external parties are crucial to the success of this effort," Hyland said in a statement. "I anticipate that the work of the Task Force will result in an effective evaluation of the agency's current role and efforts with respect to credit union service to their members, including financial literacy and alternatives to predatory lending practices."

The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions recently released a paper chock full of suggestions to NCUA, including arguing against changing the definition of low-income, that asset-based peer statistics unfairly penalize low income credit unions, and using the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund for secondary capital loans. Executive Director Cliff Rosenthal said of the task force announcement last week, "The bottom line is they decided to do things strictly internally, aside from these town hall meetings. We're disappointed but we're not surprised." However, he added that the Federation would withhold judgment until reviewing the results.

Rosenthal added, "We certainly hope that they will be holding their meeting in a way to allow low-income credit unions every opportunity to comment." He said he plans to extend an invitation to the task force to hold a town hall at the Federation's annual meeting, slated for June 7-9 in New Orleans. Prior to that, Rosenthal said, the Federation has individual meetings scheduled with each of the NCUA board members around the time of the Governmental Affairs Conference.

CUNA agreed on the importance of outside sources. "It seems as if NCUA has given much thought and developed a reasonable approach," CUNA Deputy General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Regulatory Advocacy Mary Dunn remarked. "While having agency staff work on this is positive, it is very important that NCUA not just talk with itself. Holding town hall meetings with credit unions would enhance the positives. Further, allowing other stakeholders in the credit union system to participate in the process is also a very necessary step that we strongly encourage." While not commenting on the composition, NAFCU Senior Counsel and Director of Regulatory Affairs Carrie Hunt said in general terms, "We look forward to providing the agency with our feedback as they examine the agency's role in how credit unions provide service to members." –[email protected]