ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A consultant who helps credit unions convert to mutual banks has decried NCUA's including average interest rates from former CUs alongside its presentation of average overall CU and bank interest rates at www.ncua.gov.

"Let's be clear," said Alan Theriault, CEO of CU Financial Services, a noted consultant whose firm has helped the majority of credit unions that have converted to make the change. "NCUA is not acting as the insurer or the regulator, NCUA is the cheerleader for the credit union industry. That's all, and the agency is thwarting the clear will of Congress."

In an e-mailed response to questions about the data posting, the agency reported that it had been posting data comparing overall bank and credit union interest rates since 2006, when it began requiring them to be included in the disclosure documents accompanying the charter change process.