Fall Hike the Hill Recap

Amy K with a debriefing on our credit union advocates' visits with regulators and lawmakers in Washington, DC this week. 

by Amy Kleinschmit, Chief Compliance Officer

Legislative and Regulatory Hike the Hill Recap
The annual DakCU Legislative and Regulatory Hike the Hill event took place this week with credit union professionals representing seven credit unions from across North Dakota and South Dakota traveling to Washington, D.C., to discuss pressing credit union issues with our elected officials and regulatory friends.

​Our meetings kicked off early on Tuesday morning with the North Dakota credit union professionals joining Mark Gruman, Chief of Staff for Senator Cramer, for breakfast at the Capitol.

We then came together at the Credit Union House for meetings with the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Vice Chairman Kyle Hauptman, and representatives from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Credit union professionals and Vice Chairman Hauptman discussed many credit union issues including climate-related financial risks, specifically concern if there is to be any future rulemaking. 

Representatives from the CFPB included: Amy Zirke, Senior Program Manager; Lawrence Lee, Senior Counsel Office of Regulations; and Nhu-Han Duong, Outreach and Policy Advisor. Mr. Lee provided the group with an update on the litigation surrounding Section 1071 rulemaking. We also shared our concerns with the 100 loan threshold, and discussed indirect lending concerns relating to auto dealers. Ms. Zirke and the credit union professionals discussed fraud concerns with online apps. Finally, our Dakota credit unions emphasized the importance of allowing credit union members to continue to have a choice as to whether or not they want access to overdraft products and services. 

Following our meeting with the CFPB, we made the quick trip out to NCUA headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, for our meetings with Board Member Hood and Elizabeth Eurgubian, Director of the Office of External Affairs and Communications. Dakota credit union professionals discussed a broad range of topics during these meetings. Board Member Hood shared his thoughts on fintechs, financial inclusion, and supervisory priorities. Elizabeth Eurgubian shared concerns from Chairman Harper, including cybersecurity. The Chairman would also like to bolster consumer protection exams for larger credit unions. We discussed ongoing issues with members experiencing fraud, as well as appraisal issues, including seeking a de minimus exception for written estimate requirements.

In the evening, we dined at the Morrison-Clark Historic Inn and Restaurant, which has had a long and interesting past in the DC area. The original owner of the Morrison house when it was built in 1864 was David Morrison, a developer who made his fortune selling flour and feed to the US government during the Civil War. Later on, the Women's Army and Navy League took ownership and combined it with the adjacent Clark House to create a haven for enlisted soldiers and officers. First ladies traditionally presided over the military club, hosting teas and fundraisers to maintain its operations. Grace Coolidge headed the receiving line when the facility opened in 1923; Mamie Eisenhower and Jacqueline Kennedy were also active in the organization.

Wednesday was a full day, as our crew “hiked the hill” to the Capitol for a full day of meetings with the Dakota congressional offices. We discussed a wide range of credit union topics, with one of the top issues being interchange. We asked each of our elected officials to preserve the integrity of the well-functioning debit and credit card system and oppose S. 1838/H.R. 3881. Additionally, our Dakota credit union advocates discussed our concerns with the CFPB recent rulemaking on Section 1071, as well as our challenges with inflation and loans, and echoed our fraud concerns and how more needs to be done to protect our members.

North Dakota professionals concluded the evening with a dinner in support of Senator Kevin Cramer, while the South Dakota group supported North Dakota farmers by dining in their delicious restaurant, Founding Famers and Distillers.

DakCU would like to thank the following credit unions for making the trek to DC with our advocacy team to work on behalf of all of our Dakota credit unions:

• Black Hills FCU
• Levo CU
• First Community CU
• Norstar FCU
• Town & Country CU
• Voyage FCU
• Western Cooperative CU