PORTLAND, Ore.–It is a common perception among credit unions that regulators want to see and encourage mergers among CUs. But Elizabeth Whitehead, NCUA’s Region V Director, was adamant that is not the case.
In remarks to the Amplify meeting hosted by the Northwest Credit Union Association, Whitehead made clear she does not like some of what she is seeing on her desk.
I signed off on four mergers on Friday. I didn’t even know about these,” said Whitehead. “These are not small credit unions; they’re $20 million, $50 million. It’s an issue; I would do anything possible to help these credit unions not merge. These are not problem credit unions. I realize that trying to compete is a big issue and the technology is getting more complicated. One reason the $50-million CU merged is they said they couldn’t find a CEO. Really? Just realize we aren’t out there telling them to merge. I hate it when they merge.”
Following Whitehead’s statement, Oregon’s state regulator, Janet Powell, said a solution must be found in credit unions helping each other. “Just at this conference I heard three credit unions talk about how they are helping other CUs with something of a formalized process. I think that can be one solution, even if they just need moral support on top of the technical support. There are a lot of credit unions that have people who would love to be CEOs and the issue is how do we get the word out.
If a credit union is struggling, let your regulator know. Say, “Hey regulator, do you have some ideas that could help?’”