Credit Union Transparency and Accountability

“Credit Unions have largely escaped scrutiny by a combination of wrapping themselves in the ‘good guy’ flag as a nonprofit, mission-oriented entity and by not releasing data to the public.”

Aaron Klein, Brookings Institution (2023)

“It's starting to seem like the notion, codified in statute, that credit unions are ipso facto benevolent to our most vulnerable borrowers is in need of rethinking.”

American Banker Washington Bureau Chief John Heltman (2023)

“Our legislators have given a huge pass to credit unions, on the assumption that they’re serving and meeting the needs of their members.”

National Fair Housing Alliance President and CEO Lisa Rice (2023)

“Credit unions are not as good for consumers as the industry claims.”

Rise Economy CEO Paulina Gonzalez-Brito (2023)

“Credit unions have stretched their common-bond and membership rules so far as to be almost meaningless.”

Tax Foundation President Emeritus and Senior Policy Adviser Scott Hodge (2023)

“It is also time for state legislators to accelerate efforts to ensure certain nonbank entities have Community Reinvestment Act-like requirements, particularly in sectors where there is significant subsidies or support for their business activities.”

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra (2023)

“Many of these deals are about credit unions seeking to acquire commercial loan portfolios; how does that help those whose capital was used to buy those books of business?”

Frank J. Diekmann, CUToday.info (2023)

“Looser membership standards for credit unions allowed the institutions to grow significantly larger than originally envisioned, but whether that means they serve more underserved or unserved individuals or if they are better at providing services to these groups is unclear.”

Joe Bishop-Henchman and Matthew Putnam, National Taxpayers Union (2024)

“Even though the way credit unions operate bears little resemblance to how most people envision nonprofit organizations, they enjoy the same set of tax benefits from the federal government — and sometimes even better treatment.”

Tax Foundation President Emeritus and Senior Policy Adviser Scott Hodge (2024)

“There is this myth within the credit union system that because credit unions are owned by their members, they’re always going to do right by their members…the people who manage the credit union, their interest doesn’t always align with that of the members.”

National Credit Union Administration Chairman Todd Harper (2024)