By Ray Birch
WASHINGTON—Noting defense credit unions are an active part of its membership with unique needs, America’s Credit Unions has created the Defense Credit Union Working Group.
The “informal” group plans to meet virtually each quarter, and any defense credit union that is a member of ACU can participate, said ACU SVP of Advocacy Greg Mesack.
“That is what it is, it's a working group,” Mesack told CUToday.info. “It's not a super formal structure. Over the course of this year we've had a couple of calls with our defense credit unions and it became obvious to us that defense credit unions are a very large portion of our membership. They are also a very active and engaged portion of our membership, and we wanted to create a forum where we could engage with them regularly.”
Mesack said ACU is giving its defense credit union members a “venue” where they can interact with the trade association.
“This way we can make sure we're recognizing their needs and concerns, because they have unique needs and specific concerns. They are an active part of our base,” Mesack said.
The Defense Credit Union Working Group will be managed by ACU’s advocacy team, Mesack said.
Greg Mesack
“Again, it's not formal. Any defense credit union can come and go as they please,” he explained. “The advocacy team will schedule and run the meetings. No credit union is formally signed up. Any defense credit union is free to dial in and join our calls, and we plan to hold them regularly throughout the year. It's just a chance for our (defense) credit unions to interact with our advocacy staff and let them know what's important to them, and what's on their minds.”
Quarterly Calls
Mesack said the goal is to hold the calls quarterly, with the first call with the Working Group occurring in the next two weeks.
“We've had a couple of calls with our defense credit unions earlier this year, which is what opened our eyes to the need to make it something more regular,” Mesack said. “But this next call will be our first, formal quarterly call.”
Mesack said ACU also wants the Working Group to keep its defense credit union members updated on what's happening in Washington.
“On both legislative and regulatory issues that impact defense credit unions. It’s going to be a great give and take,” he said.
“Asked if ACU has other working groups, or plans to form them, Mesack said, “America's Credit Unions is relatively new. We're still trying to sort all this out.”
Mesack said it is possible other working groups could be created, and that ACU already has formed a Fraud Task Force, which he said is similar in approach to a working group.
“These things are usually created as issues come up or as we recognize a need,” Mesack said. “For example, we recognize that fraud is a huge and growing issue for credit unions, so we created the Task Force. We also recognize that defense credit unions have specific needs.”
Mesack, formerly with NAFCU before the two trade associations merged, noted NAFCU had working groups, including ones for small business and digital assets.
DCUC Encourages 'Constructive Engagement'
Jason Stverak
DCUC, which serves nearly 200 defense CUs, responded to reports that ACU had established the Defense Credit Union Working Group.
“Whatever the reason that ACU has decided to establish this defense credit union working group, DCUC has always appreciated more attention on the defense credit union community,” said DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak. “We look forward to working with ACU, as well as any system partner, that is dedicated to helping promote defense credit unions and address the issues that are important to them.
“However, we heard from a large part of our membership that has been concerned about how this came about, without any consultation with DCUC—which for the past 60 years has been the leader of advocating on behalf of defense credit unions and veterans,” Stverak continued. “Based on credit union feedback thus far, DCUC is encouraging constructive engagement with ACU on a wide-range of issues vital to the defense credit union community. DCUC encourages ACU to put a premium on outreach, communication and transparency to better enable a partnership that elevates advocacy on behalf of the entire defense credit union community.”