New op-ed from ICBA leadership banker Ken Hale: Local communities stand to lose millions in local tax revenue

The latest op-ed from ICBA leadership community banker Ken Hale on the negative impact of the credit union tax exemption details the direct impact that credit unions purchasing banks in Louisiana will have on local governments.

Details: In the new op-ed in the Natchitoches Parish Journal, Hale—the president and CEO of BOM Bank in Natchitoches, La.—says:

• Because credit unions are exempt from Louisiana’s Bank Shares Tax, these local taxes disappear any time a credit union acquires a bank in the state.

• The actual Bank Shares Tax and property taxes that BOM Bank paid in 2024 stayed local, directly supporting the communities where its branches operate.

• The acquisition of Louisiana banks by tax-exempt credit unions has long-lasting fiscal consequences for local governments and the communities they serve.

Previous Op-ed: In a previous op-ed in the Shreveport Bossier Journal, Hale said that in an era of credit unions operating more like large financial institutions and less like community-oriented lenders, Congress should conduct oversight hearings and reexamine whether credit unions’ tax-exempt status still aligns with their actions today.

Growing Media Scrutiny:

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

• A previous article in The Banker—an imprint of the Financial Times—says some credit unions may be abandoning their mission with “Wall Street-style” behavior and no longer serving their core members.

• In The CU Daily, retired credit union CEO Ed Speed cites the loosening of field-of-membership rules, regulatory maneuvering that exploits tax advantages, and expansion-focused growth strategies.

• A recent American Banker article says credit unions are indeed announcing more and more bank acquisitions, sometimes thousands of miles away.

What It Means for Community Banks: The rising media attention to the credit union tax exemption comes as ICBA continues calling on policymakers to end the tax exemption for credit unions over $1 billion in assets. Recent ICBA polling conducted by Morning Consult shows 62% of U.S. adults say credit unions that operate like banks should have to pay taxes like banks.