Pub. 10 2021 Issue 4

Pub. 10 2021 Issue 4 11 Email Rob Nichols at nichols@aba.com. Better Service. Better Solutions. Let’s Grow Together. KsFiberNet is Kansas’ largest statewide fiber-optic network made up of 28 Independent Telephone Companies. We have over 4,000 miles of state-of-the-art 100 GB fiber network coverage, allowing us to provide finance organizations like yours with unparalleled service and support. Connect with us - we’re here to help! 316-712-6030 sales@ksfiber.net These efforts represent yet another assault on the statutory definition of “credit unions” enshrined in the Federal Credit Union Act that has been going on for years. It’s even been acknowledged at the highest levels of the leadership of the NCUA’s. One need look no further than former NCUA Chairman Mark McWatters’ warning that the agency he once led has become “inappropriately emboldened” and has allowed the institutions it is charged with supervising to creep far beyond their statutory boundaries. It’s time for Congress to step in. Lawmakers must determine whether these types of acquisitions — and the negative consequences that follow — align with the public policy goals Congress intended when it created the credit union tax exemption in the first place. Until they do, the banking industry must continue to push back — as it has in states like Iowa and Colorado, where state regulators have determined that local statutes do not allow credit unions to acquire state-chartered banks. ABA will continue its advocacy against these types of mergers — as we did in a recent letter to the OCC, highlighting the particular threat they pose to the mutual bank business model. We will continue to make these arguments loudly and often because we know that when tax-exempt credit unions overtake taxpaying banks, everyone loses. Lawmakers must determine whether these t ypes of acquisitions — and the negat ive consequences that fol low — al ign wi th the public policy goals Congress intended when i t created the credit union tax exempt ion in the f i rst place.