WASHINGTON— America’s Credit Unions President and CEO Jim Nussle pushed back against a recent American Banker op-ed, which ACU asserts contains “factually inaccurate claims” intended to undermine the critical role credit unions serve nationwide.
"These attempts by banks to call for a so-called ‘level playing field’ would do anything but that. These tired claims are deeply flawed, relying on deliberate misdirection and chronic misinformation,” Nussle stated. “As not-for-profit financial cooperatives, credit unions are uniquely positioned to leverage the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund to benefit communities nationwide. Congress deliberately included credit unions when creating the CDFI Fund, and the 2000 implementing regulation explicitly affirmed that insured credit unions can be certified as CDFIs and receive funding. Any claims to the contrary ignore both the law and the facts.”
Nussle pointed to facts he asserted “speak for themselves.”
“For every dollar of CDFI funding received, credit unions deliver an average of $12 in measurable community impact,” Nussle said. “That return reflects credit unions’ mission to put people first. It’s exactly why Congress should continue to support credit unions’ work in strengthening underserved communities—whether in rural areas or urban centers—and serving the small business owners and 144 million hardworking people who count on credit unions today and into the future.”
The American Banker op ed, penned by Ryan Ellis, president of the Center for a Free Economy, asserts credit unions are “grifting taxpayers twofold because they are exempt from most federal, state, and local taxes, and are subsidized by an arcane entity housed within the U.S. Treasury Department: the Community Development Financial Institution, or CDFI, Fund. Credit unions' tax status also conflicts with CDFI requirements, raising questions about their current tax treatment.”