Credit Union National Association’s Small Credit Union Committee communicated to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) about some merger trends and other issues in the industry.
In a letter to the NCUA, CUNA officials explained that 90 percent of credit union mergers are credit unions under $100 million in assets
“Our top-line concern around this trend stems from what the impact of the loss of those credit unions will mean in their respective communities and membership groups,” Teri Robinson, chair of CUNA’s Small Credit Union Committee and president/CEO of Ironworkers USA FCU, Portland, Ore., wrote to NCUA.
The committee also thanked NCUA for its efforts to provide relief for small credit unions regarding examinations, including through the small credit union exam, longer examination cycle and forgoing the ACET test for credit unions under $250 million in assets.
Robinson also discussed the current expected credit loss (CECL) standard. The letter urges NCUA to create a resource, whether webinar or white paper, to assuage small credit union fears that they will not have the capabilities to change to the CECL standard. She also calls attention to the fact that even slight changes with how non-member deposits are regulated could yield “significant benefits for all sizes of credit unions.”