NAFCU Board Chair Ed Templeton called it a mortifying shock when he learned the executive committee of CUNA's board canceled a meeting with the executive committee of NAFCU's board at the 2016 Governmental Affairs Conference – a longstanding gathering for the nation's two national credit union trade organizations.

For years, the executive boards of both trade groups would meet twice a year, once at the NAFCU caucus during September in Washington and then at the GAC to discuss industry-wide issues and for both executive committee members and staff to build professional relationships.

“It was a mortifying shock,” Templeton, president/CEO of the $732 million SRP Federal Credit Union in North Augusta, S.C., said. “I did not expect that at all.”

According to Templeton, Susan Streifel, former CUNA board chair and president/CEO of the $96.7 million Woodstone Credit Union in Federal Way, Wash., canceled the GAC meeting because the CUNA executive committee would be too busy.

What's more, Streifel said CUNA felt the meeting was no longer necessary because CUNA was not getting any takeaways from it, according to Templeton. CUNA also pulled the GAC passes for NAFCU's executive committee members.

Streifel did not return phone calls and emails from CU Times seeking comment last week. In addition, CU Times emailed Streifel a list of questions, to which she did not respond. 

“I'm very distressed about this and I don't like it,” Templeton said. “It is a let down to the industry because the industry expects us to get together. Nobody [on the NAFCU board] was happy about it because everybody feels the same way as I do on this.”

Incoming NAFCU Chair Richard L. Harris, president/CEO of the $1.3 billion CalTech Employees Federal Credit Union in La Canada, Calif., said it's NAFCU's desire to keep the lines of communications open with CUNA – despite the politics of the two associations – so that the two trade groups can continue to speak with one voice on Capitol Hill.

Although Templeton acknowledged the meetings between CUNA and NAFCU did not produce new takeaways, he believed that to be a good sign.

“The perspective that they [CUNA] probably took is that we really aren't learning anything new, so why do we have to meet,” Templeton said. “Our perspective is that I think it's great we're not learning new things. To me, that is a reassurance that we are on the right path. We may not be holding hands, but we're walking down the path together, and I think that was really what we were looking for was the reassurance that we don't have any issues.”

Templeton also said the relationship between CUNA and NAFCU, as far as he knew, has been positive.

But a remark made by new CUNA Board Chair Rod Staatz, president/CEO of the $2.9 billion State Employees Credit Union in Linthicum, Md., during his speech at the GAC's general session, indicated that the relationship between CUNA and NAFCU is not exactly kumbaya.

What's more, the controversial membership choice issue could also be straining the CUNA/NAFCU relationship.

Read more details about CUNA and NAFCU's changing relationship in the March 16, 2016 edition of Credit Union Times.