FORT McDOWELL, Ariz. — CUNA is certain its grassroots effort this spring, including 20,000 e-mails and phone calls to the NCUA and lawmakers, helped turn the tide to get the corporate stabilization law signed by President Obama.

That law, allowing credit unions to spread corporate stabilization cost payments over seven years, was enacted "as a tribute to our action alert" advocacy efforts, declared Susan Newton, CUNA senior vice president and executive director of the American Association of Credit Union Leagues.Speaking to the annual convention of the Arizona Credit Union League, Newton thanked the state's CU leaders for their active participation in the outreach campaign considering the state's CUs "remain on the front lines" in the nation's economic crisis.

Newton said the grassroots efforts were successful in forcing greater transparency in the NCUA's corporate actions, which at the same time had stirred industry divisions.