In an American Banker op-ed, Aaron Klein, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and policy director at the Center on Regulation and Markets, calls for banklike credit unions to be subject to the same regulations as banks.
Klein stated there is a handful of large credit unions that "want to grow into national financial institutions, serving anyone and everyone."
Klein identifies Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) with its aggressive growth strategy as the poster child of these mega credit unions.
The op-ed noted that anyone can join PenFed, which contradicts the concept of common bond.
Klein wrote: "If anyone can be part of your field of membership, then you should have a duty to adequately serve everyone."
Klein called on the National Credit Union Administration to require the largest credit unions comply with Community Reinvestment Act to ensure they remain committed to their missions and communities, not cherry-picking high-dollar customers.
He also called for disclosure of credit unions’ executive salaries, as nearly every other nonprofit organization is required to do.
Read the BankThink opinion.
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Brrokings institue. This is the best they can do?
ReplyDeleteIf the large credit unions are like banks, then why the fractional measure of cra?
Stupid.
If credit unions at a billion or more in total assets are like banks (they are) tax them and give them all the other regulatory enhancements and expectations.
Amazing that brookings actually wrote this and published it...like its “important “.
Stink tank.