In new op-ed, ICBA breaks down consumer harm of credit union acquisitions 

A new op-ed from ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey breaks down ICBA’s data analysis showing that when credit unions purchase community banks, consumers and local communities are harmed. 

Details: In Open Banker, Romero Rainey writes: 

• ICBA’s analysis shows that tax-exempt credit union purchases of tax-paying community banks results in diminished lending, reduced opportunities for small businesses, and fewer resources for the high-poverty areas that Congress subsidizes credit unions to serve. 

• To expand the tax base and encourage a competitive financial services marketplace, lawmakers should treat credit unions with over $1 billion in assets the way they operate—like tax-paying commercial banks. 

More Media Scrutiny:  

• The American Prospect details how some credit unions are taking advantage of their industry’s tax and regulatory exemptions to stray from their roots and acquire tax-paying competition. 

• A Tyfone op-ed from ICBA Past Chairman Brad Bolton and ICBA leadership community banker Ken Hale spotlights why policymakers should examine credit union acquisitions of community banks.     

• In previous op-eds in the Natchitoches Parish Journal and the Shreveport Bossier Journal, Hale details how credit union acquisitions of community banks harm local communities.       

• Recent op-eds in American Banker and RealClear Markets target the credit union tax exemption following ongoing ICBA advocacy.         

READ THE NEW OP-ED