WASHINGTON, DC – Nearly 100 credit union representatives from across Minnesota took to Capitol Hill last Wednesday to deliver a unified message to members of the 113th Congress. Advocates spoke to elected officials about credit unions’ benefits and their unique structure, told them how member business lending (MBL) will create local jobs, and discussed the increasing burden of regulatory compliance in the financial services industry.
This Minnesota contingent was part of a larger group of 4,200 credit union representatives nationwide who gathered in Washington, D.C., for the Credit Union National Association’s Governmental Affairs Conference. Uniting for the good of the credit union movement, advocates fanned out en masse across Capitol Hill seeking support from Congress.
In preparation for legislative visits, Minnesota’s credit union representatives attended a luncheon in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, with special guest speaker Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). Expressing her affinity for credit unions, Sen. Klobuchar thanked attendees for their recent and ongoing work to stabilize the economy.
“I understand the value that credit unions bring to the state of Minnesota,” Sen. Klobuchar said during her keynote remarks at the luncheon.
“Minnesota credit unions are eager to fulfill the lending needs of their business-owning members. They want to do their part to help boost the economy,” said Mara Humphrey, Vice President – Governmental Affairs for the Minnesota Credit Union Network (MnCUN).
In Minnesota, credit unions could lend nearly $193 million in the first year if the MBL cap is raised, creating more than 2,000 jobs in the state – at no cost to taxpayers. Credit unions have a sound track record when it comes to business loans, and they specialize in smaller loan amounts. The average loan in Minnesota is $135,000.
Credit union advocates conveyed the MBL message, along with other requests for support, to federal elected officials. One appeal made to members of Congress and their staff is to help reduce the regulatory burden on credit unions, which have faced increasing regulations in recent years since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act. The grassroots group stressed that every dollar a credit union spends on regulatory compliance is a dollar that is not being used to benefit its members.
“We appreciate the participation of our credit unions in this important advocacy event,” Humphrey said. “Personal interaction with our elected officials is the best way to keep credit unions at the forefront of our legislators’ minds as they deliberate important issues. We appreciate the opportunity to remind them that credit unions are the preferred, trusted financial institutions for more than 1.5 million Minnesotans.”
The Minnesota Credit Union Network is an organization representing the state’s 134 not-for-profit cooperative credit unions serving more than 1.5 million member-owners in Minnesota. For more information, visit www.mncun.org.