ICBA: Congress needs to examine credit union-community bank acquisitions

ICBA urged the Senate Banking Committee to re-examine the anti-competitive effect from the surge in credit union acquisitions of taxpaying community banks and the permissive oversight of the National Credit Union Administration.

“As large credit unions have prioritized rapid growth and non-traditional financial product offerings, the NCUA has failed to keep pace with the evolving character of the industry. A hearing is needed to update Congress’s understanding of the industry and its impact on the American financial services landscape,” ICBA said.

Background: ICBA noted Lake Michigan Credit Union’s recent acquisition of a Florida bank specializing in aircraft financing as evidence of how far growth-obsessed credit unions have strayed from their mission to serve people of modest means.

Meanwhile, its lax regulator, the NCUA, has virtually dissolved field of membership limitations and allowed credit unions to raise capital through the sale of subordinated debt securities to venture funds and other outside investors.

More: The Joint Committee on Taxation has tallied the federal cost of the credit union tax exemption at roughly $10 billion through 2022—an annual taxpayer cost of $2 billion and rising.