WASHINGTON – Today, America’s Credit Unions and its Transition Board of Directors are proud to announce the 2025 credit union advocacy priorities that will guide President/CEO Jim Nussle, Chief Advocacy Officer Carrie Hunt, and the organization during the 119th Congress. The priorities build on a successful year in advocacy and direct feedback from America’s Credit Unions’ membership. America’s Credit Unions is committed to ensuring all credit unions have the continued ability to serve their members’ unique financial needs and help them thrive. The Board approved these priorities in December 2024.
“Our first year as America’s Credit Unions was a success in many ways, and it also showed us several opportunities to proactively seek legislative and regulatory improvements to ensure credit unions continue to thrive,” said America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Jim Nussle. “As an organization, in partnership with leagues and credit unions, we brought to Washington one unified voice for the credit union industry and the more than 140 million Americans who choose credit unions as their trusted financial institution. Our advocates, from the federal level to state legislatures, are ready to protect, empower, and advance credit unions.”
“I am proud to lead a team of dedicated advocates – from a compliance, legislative, and legal standpoint – into new heights this coming Congress and beyond,” said America’s Credit Unions Chief Advocacy Officer Carrie Hunt. “Credit unions across the country deserve to have an effective voice in Washington to influence policymaking. Lawmakers and regulators must understand that their decisions impact credit unions and credit unions’ ability to serve hardworking Americans. At the end of the day, everyone – regardless of social and economic standing – deserves safe and affordable access to financial services and credit unions are the best partners to achieve financial goals.”
“On behalf of the Transition Board of Directors, I want to thank the credit union industry for supporting our new organization and helping us establish a unified voice to make a meaningful difference for our institutions,” said Brian Schools, America’s Credit Unions Transition Board of Directors Chair and President/CEO of Chartway Credit Union. “The dedication and hard work America’s Credit Unions has invested are making significant progress toward our mission and vision to ensure credit unions thrive and people everywhere can partner with us. The Board is looking forward to seeing what America’s Credit Unions accomplishes this coming year.”
America’s Credit Unions 2025 policy priorities focus on protecting, empowering, and advancing credit unions. These policies are critical to continued credit union growth:
PROTECT
CREDIT UNION TAX STATUS
The credit union federal tax status is an integral part of credit unions’ structure that allows them to focus on their mission of “people helping people.” We are committed to preserving this status to help advance communities, improve the financial future for all people, and keep local economies strong.
STOP LIABILITY SHIFT FOR FRAUD
Oppose efforts to increase financial institution liability under Reg E to include fraudulently induced transactions, including any other efforts to make credit unions liable for fraud that is outside of their ability to reasonably prevent. Such changes to the payments system would have a devastating impact on credit unions and their ability to serve their members.
PROTECT INTERCHANGE
Fight to protect affordable access to credit and ensure consumers and merchants continue to receive the protections and benefits made possible through ubiquitous access to electronic payments supported by interchange fees. Needless and harmful changes to the credit card system and additional limits on debit interchange would only enrich merchants while significantly increasing both consumer and financial institution risks.
ADDRESS RIGHT-SIZED RULES & SO-CALLED “JUNK FEES”
Prevent arbitrary barriers to consumers and businesses that rely on credit unions. Establish right-sized rules and differentiate the reasonable fees charged by depository institutions from the CFPB’s misleading “junk fees” terminology that targets well-disclosed legally permissible fees, like overdraft protection and late fees. Many of these fees are used to fund the operations of the credit union and help the institution offer products and services designed to meet the needs of all its members.
REFORM CFPB STRUCTURE
Enact CFPB reforms to establish stability and increased oversight, including a bipartisan leadership structure and funding through the annual congressional appropriations process.
PREVENT UNLIMITED NCUA AUTHORITY
Rein in the NCUA’s growing budget and efforts to expand its supervisory powers to include third-party vendor oversight. These would be costly and disruptive for credit unions without a clearly defined scope and purpose.
SUPPORT AN INDEPENDENT REGULATORY REGIME
Ensure regulators consider credit unions’ unique structure and commitment to serving their members and communities through tailored regulations. Regulators should engage in transparent discussion of new supervisory proposals and provide clear rules of the road, including fair lending, to reduce uncertainty and minimize compliance challenges.
EMPOWER
THE CREDIT UNION DIFFERENCE
As not-for-profit financial cooperatives owned by members, credit unions are consumers’ best option for financial services. Credit unions are governed by a principle of one member one vote, allowing ordinary Americans to have a voice in the financial affairs of their communities. We work to ensure credit unions can provide the financial products and services consumers want and deserve, demonstrating the industry’s difference from for-profit banks and reforming policies to expand access to programs to their members and communities.
SEEK GREATER FRAUD PREVENTION
Credit unions should have the tools to protect their members from fraud. Additionally, those entities that enable fraud and those that are responsible for fraud should be required to make consumers whole in order to reinforce trust in the financial system.
ESTABLISH FEDERAL DATA PROTECTION STANDARDS
Protect consumers’ and small businesses’ financial data and hold negligent actors accountable with a single, comprehensive national data security and privacy standard. This standard must preempt state laws, account for credit unions’ existing compliance with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and include robust security requirements that apply to all who collect or hold personal data.
ENSURE A FAIR REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT
Ensure all financial providers operate in a fair regulatory environment, under the same rules and with the same consumer protection requirements. Supervised credit unions should not be subjected to regulatory disadvantages compared to entities that lack a functional regulator or are not subject to regular examinations. Big government encroachment into the financial services market, as well as the expanded role of under-supervised entities, creates challenges for credit unions trying to provide services to their members.
ADVANCE
BUILD MORE CREDIT UNION OPPORTUNITIES
By modernizing outdated laws and regulations, credit unions will be better equipped to support growth and advancement for their members – the people and small businesses who depend on them for more financial options.
EXPAND ACCESS TO CREDIT UNIONS
Give more people and businesses the ability to join and partner with a credit union for their financial needs. Opposing efforts to impose burdensome regulatory speedbumps on credit unions, such as the Community Reinvestment Act, or efforts to stop or slow the pace of credit union growth will ensure credit unions can continue to focus on doing what they do best – helping their members.
CREATE GREATER LENDING OPTIONS AND FLEXIBILITY
Expand and enhance credit unions’ ability to lend to consumers and small businesses, giving consumers and entrepreneurs more lending options to help fuel the success of Main Street America. This includes relief from the member business lending cap, updating maturity limits, and transitioning to a floating interest rate ceiling.
ALLOW NEW INVESTMENT OPTIONS
Allow credit unions more opportunities to effectively manage their balance sheets, reinvest in their members, and further support their communities. Grant credit unions all necessary authorities to support member engagement with digital currencies and provide reputable custodial services.
SUPPORT INNOVATION & EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
Encourage the development of a comprehensive regulatory framework for new and emerging technologies that delivers effective oversight and a level set approach for all providers, while allowing credit unions the regulatory flexibility to easily incorporate and innovate. Support regulatory sandboxes, no action letters, and pilot programs focused on supporting credit union experimentation with new technologies or business models.
SUPPORT ENHANCED CONSUMER ACCESS TO HOUSING
Expand credit unions’ ability to join the Federal Home Loan Banks, work with the government-sponsored enterprises to create more channels for credit unions to access the secondary mortgage market and offer tools to help credit unions create solutions to address the housing needs of their members.
About America’s Credit Unions
America’s Credit Unions is the unified voice for not-for-profit credit unions and their more than 140 million members nationwide. America’s Credit Unions provides strong advocacy, resources and services to protect, empower, and advance credit unions and the people and communities they serve. For more information about America’s Credit Unions, visit AmericasCreditUnions.org.
