Over the past 50 years, the credit union industry has logged some great wins and come through some strong challenges. From pushing back on tax proposals to protecting credit union federal share insurance and fighting regulators' efforts to treat Main Street credit unions the same as Wall Street banks, the industry has stood strong.

Of course, the industry has also had a strong ally the past 50 years. It was 50 years ago that a group of forward-looking leaders decided to establish the National Association of Federal Credit Unions. Now known as the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, NAFCU has shown time and again its strength and resolve to provide credit unions the very best in federal advocacy, education and compliance assistance.

And it plans to continue doing the same for the next 50 years and beyond.

NAFCU works tirelessly to further regulatory relief provisions and ensure credit unions maintain their tax-exempt status. It is a financially strong and well-positioned association with an efficient and productive governance model and operating structure. Furthermore, it employs an outstanding team of professionals whose sole focus is on providing credit unions with extreme member service every single day.

Because of its intense member focus over the past 50 years, and as a result of the advocacy efforts of credit unions and their more than 107 million member-owners, NAFCU has strengthened credit unions' position in the financial services arena.

I am proud of the accomplishments NAFCU and credit unions have amassed over the past 50 years. Here are some of the highlights:

The campaign to establish the NCUA as an independent federal agency, focused solely on credit unions;
The creation of the NCUSIF to protect credit union deposits;
The passage of legislation legalizing credit union share drafts;
The preservation of credit unions' federal corporate income tax exemption; and
The passage, won by a joint industry campaign that attracted supporters from all quarters, of the Credit Union Membership Access Act in 1998.

Even in recent years that have been filled with political gridlock, NAFCU has scored positive changes:

Revisions to the definitions of net worth and equity ratio under the Federal Credit Union Act;
Expanded credit union investment authority to help fight interest rate risk; and
A one-year delay of FASB's “current expected credit loss” standard to fiscal years beginning after Dec. 15, 2021.

NAFCU stood alone in pushing for some of these achievements, just as it stood as the only financial services trade association to oppose CFPB authority over credit unions under the Dodd-Frank Act.

NAFCU staff is daily pushing for an easing of the credit union industry's regulatory burden, attempting to win national data security standards for all that hold consumers' personal financial data (akin to the standards already upheld by credit unions) and, among other things, ensuring the preservation of the credit union federal corporate tax exemption.

During this golden anniversary year, the NAFCU staff and board are working with steady resolve to ensure the association continues to add value to the industry and remains relevant into the next 50 years. This means working to create a positive legislative and regulatory environment that will allow credit unions to grow and thrive.

We know there will be some bumps in the road. We will certainly face more change and new challenges, but that is where NAFCU shines.

NAFCU arose from a need to provide a voice in Washington to advance the concerns of federal credit unions. The association's first members wanted more breathing room, more powers and better protections.

NAFCU's early wins of modernizing the Federal Credit Union Act through the establishment of the NCUA and share insurance for federal credit unions required a steady focus and unwavering determination from beginning to end.

This focus and determination have marked numerous accomplishments of this association throughout its 50-year history. For example, in 1991, NAFCU initially stood alone in opposing a Treasury Department proposal that would have required credit unions to write down their 1% deposit in the NCUSIF and placed a Treasury representative on the NCUA board.

NAFCU took this action in the face of some stiff opposition from other groups and regulatory bodies because it knew doing otherwise would not have been in the best interests of its members. NAFCU, working with credit unions, advocated before Congress, Treasury and other regulators to protect credit unions' independent federal regulator and share insurance fund.

Absent this action, support for the Treasury proposal among the lobbying and regulatory community would have been unanimous, and credit unions' federal regulatory governing and insurance structures would have been changed in a major way.

NAFCU was acutely focused on what credit unions said they needed most in the beginning, and it remains just as focused, and responsive, on federal issues affecting credit unions today.

With a board of directors comprised of credit union CEOs and a friendly, responsive and knowledgeable staff, I can say with certainty that NAFCU's golden year, which we are celebrating in Hawaii, is going to be just that. I am equally looking forward to beginning our next 50 years, which I am sure will be marked by more successes, more growth and even greater security for this industry and the members it serves.

Richard L. Harris is Chair of NAFCU and President/CEO of Caltech Employees FCU. He can be reached at 818-949-5601.

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50 Years of Serving CUs and Just Getting Started

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