WASHINGTON – CUNA officially opened its annual Government Affairs Conference Monday at the Washington Convention Center boasting a record crowd of more than 4,400 attendees.

CUNA President/CEO Bill Cheney kicked off the event with a general assembly address, saying he has never been more optimistic about the future of the credit union industry. He also told attendees he has been discussing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new mortgage rules with Director Richard Cordray, and offered hope credit unions might be exempted from more Dodd-Frank regulations.

Cheney also said according to CUNA data, credit union membership has grown to 100 million as of February 2014, up from 92 million members in 2009.

See more: Pomp and Circumstance …

Before Cheney took the stage, CUNA opened its conference as it usual does, with the traditional presentation of colors by the U.S. Joint Armed Forces Color Guard and a performance by the U.S. Marine Corps Band. The Hon. Rev. Patrick J. Conroy, chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives gave the invocation, and Patty Kimmel, chairman of the Defense Credit Union Council, led attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance.

See more: Blair brings Brit perspective …

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said during his general session Monday morning that nobody should be surprised to learn the National Security Agency is listening in on their conversations. The statement was in response to a question from the audience.

See more: Cyber-terrorism threat

NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz departed from current issues like risk-based capital and diversity standards to address a releatively new topic out of the agency: The threat of cyber-terrorism. Matz said terrorists are targeting the nation's infrastructure, which includes the financial system. Matz unveiled new online resources from the NCUA to help credit unions fight cyber-terrorism, and made additional suggestions for information technology team leaders.

See more: Unite for Good …

CUNA Chairman Pat Wesenberg, president/CEO of the $204 million Central City Credit Union in Marshfield, Wis., also addressed the general session crowd Monday morning. Wesenberg talked up CUNA's Unite for Good campaign that promotes credit unions to consumers.

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Blair, Matz and Cheney: Photos from GAC Day 1

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