ALEXANDRIA, Va.–NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz offered a thank you to credit unions, her fellow board members and NCUA staff in closing remarks in her final meeting as chairman.
And even fellow board member Mark McWatters, who has frequently sparred with Matz at board meetings, offered his congratulations on accomplishments during Matz’s term.
Matz is stepping down April 30. She is the longest-serving NCUA board member in history and the first ever to serve two separate terms.
Matz thanked all credit union professionals and volunteers for all of their work continuing to provide “affordable financial services” to Americans. She further thanked CUs for their efforts to not just get through the financial crisis but for continuing to extend credit “during the worst financial times of our lives.”
Matz called the NCUA staff “second to none” and noted that many “spend months on the road away from family and friends. Their work is largely invisible. No one ever says, ‘Thank you. My deposits deposits are safe.’ So I say thank you.”
Matz thanked all of the board members with whom she has served, noting that while they haven’t always agreed on policy they have always worked toward the same goal.
“I do see a bright future for credit unions,” said Matz. “Being NCUA chairman has been the most challenging and gratifying experience, and I will treasure it. I leave convinced the credit union system is firmly positioned for the future.”
McWatters Offers Comment
McWatters, who laughed as he remarked, “When you said you had policy difference with some board members, you probably were referring to me,” then added, “I just want to say these were policy differences. They were never personal. We get along in the office just fine. Policy differences are what makes government function. If everyone thinks the same, government doesn’t work. I never felt for a moment that my suggestions were not welcome.”
McWatters noted that while he wasn’t at the agency as it was dealing with the financial crisis, he was a member of the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel, and he recalled 2009 as being “very dark days. So I have a proxy understanding of what was going on here.”
He praised Matz and NCUA for their work in managing that crisis, noting that it’s easy to manage with 2020 hindsight, but at the time “Chairman Matz and the staff did not know if they were doing a Thelma and Louise or if things would turn out well.”
He said that since regulators get the blame when things do not go well, it was only fair that the chairman and NCUA get credit for effectively leading through the crisis.