U.S. Capitol building The U.S. Capitol building. (Photo: Shutterstock)

On Wednesday, members of the House Financial Services Committee passed the Credit Union Board Modernization Act (H.R. 6889) introduced by Reps. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio).

The bill would alter the Federal Credit Union Act's requirement that federally charted credit unions meet 12 times each year and reduce that number to a minimum of six times each year.

In a statement Wednesday after its passage out of Committee, CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle said, "Thank you to the House Financial Services Committee for passing this common-sense bipartisan bill that will give credit union boards needed flexibility. This bill addresses an outdated Federal Credit Union Act requirement and will free up credit union staff and board members to focus more on member service."

In letters to the Committee on Tuesday, both NAFCU and CUNA argued that the Federal Credit Union Act does not consider the advances in technology that have occurred to allow board members to communicate at any time.

In his letter, NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler wrote, "With all of the connectivity and technology available today, credit union boards are able to communicate in an ongoing manner that has negated the necessity of monthly meetings."

CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle wrote in his letter that the burden of the old meeting requirements puts a particularly large burden on small credit unions. "This outdated board meeting requirement can place a burden on credit union staff and their volunteer board members, especially smaller credit unions with few employees and those in rural areas. The amount of resources it takes for a credit union to run a monthly board meeting can shift employee time away from the services that a credit union provides to its community."

Nussle added, "To incentivize good governance at credit unions and promote safety and soundness of the overall system, we also support exemptions made in this legislation for credit unions with a low CAMELS composite rating, credit unions with a low Management component rating and de novo credit unions as they stabilize operations."

A similar bill in the Senate was introduced in May by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).

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Michael Ogden

Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.