CUNA meets with Treasury's Amir-Mokri on CU priorities

Credit Union National Association (CUNA) President/CEO Bill Cheney met Tuesday with the Treasury Department's Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, Cyrus Amir-Mokri, in his Treasury office to discuss credit union policy priorities for 2012.

The assistant secretary assumed his new role in November.

Cheney highlighted key information about credit unions as well as the objectives CUNA is focusing on this year: the continuation of credit unions' tax exempt status, meaningful regulatory relief for credit unions, allowing credit unions to strengthen their ability to manage risks through the use of supplemental capital, and ensuring greater flexibility for credit unions to provide more member business loans.

Cheney, who was joined by CUNA staff at the meeting, commended the Treasury for its support of increased member business lending for credit unions and said that CUNA wants to work with Treasury as CUNA pursues its policy objectives. The recent Government Accountability Office report on the National Credit Union Administration was also discussed.

In a follow-up thank you note, he reiterated the central purpose of credit unions -- to serve their members' financial needs and thereby serve their communities -- and urged the Obama Administration to support credit unions policy goals.

CUNA estimates that increasing the current 12.25% of assets MBL cap to 27.5% of a credit union's total assets would have a number of beneficial effects on the ailing economy, including infusing $13 billion in new credit for small businesses and adding 140,000 new jobs within the first year of enactment--all at no cost to the American taxpayer.