The House passed the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2007 (H.R. 1427) in May by a vote of 313 to 104. Better known as the GSE Bill, it will overhaul the regulatory oversight of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks, by creating a new, independent regulator with powers similar to the banking regulators. The legislation would also establish an off-budget affordable housing fund.

Frank and Miller, along with Congressmen Richard Baker (R-La.) and Mel Watt (D-N.C.) originally introduced the bill.

Wescom CU Opens Doors To 50th SoCal Branch

PASADENA, Calif. — For Wescom Credit Union 50 is a major Southern California branch milestone.

Located in Santa Barbara, the latest branch marks the fourth Wescom branch in Santa Barbara County and the second one to open in the city. The move is just part of Wescom's ongoing strategy to create a strong physical presence by significantly increasing its number of branches by 2010.

The traditional style branch includes six teller stations, two self-help stations, three plasma message screens, two walk up ATMs and a rate board, and four employees including Branch Manager Gokhan Urkmez. In addition the branch will be used as a regional employee training center that will serve Wescom's Ventura and Santa Barbara county branches.

So far in just five years the credit union has more than doubled its number of branch locations.

“Our most important motivation in building new branches is to make it easier for members to do business with Wescom,” said Darren Williams, president/CEO of Wescom Credit Union. “At the same time, branch visibility increases awareness in the community at large. We place our traditional branches in busy retail areas, and more than a quarter of our branches are in supermarkets, which gives them exposure to a large number of non-members.”

Currently, Wescom has 31 traditional branches and 19 in-store branches.

Hyland Praises CU Commitment to Member Service at Denver Outreach Town Hall

DENVER — NCUA Board Member Gigi Hyland hosted the fifth of six Outreach Task Force town hall meetings recently in Denver with over 100 participants from seven different states.

“I am very pleased with the response to the town hall meeting in Denver,” Hyland stated. “The long distance that many people traveled to attend speaks volumes about the credit union system's commitment to serving their members. The town hall format is ideal for the open exchange of ideas which the Task Force will consider upon completion of the series of meetings.”

Similar to the previous four meetings held in Cincinnati, Boston, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, Hyland provided background information to the attendees and assured them that their contributions would be critical to the task force's deliberations. Attendees were encouraged to participate freely throughout the meeting.

The creation of the Outreach Task Force is in further response to the findings in NCUA's Member Service Assessment Pilot Program, issued in November 2006. The 13-member group is comprised of NCUA staff and chaired by Hyland. Registration is currently open for the last scheduled town hall meeting, Oct. 2, in the Washington, D.C. area.

National Review Columnist Advises Against Taxing Credit Unions

WASHINGTON — In tackling the credit-related market slump, the Bush administration has acted quickly with some good, and some bad, ideas, according to one columnist.

In Ripples Make Waves: We shouldn't tax our credit unions, a column by Competitive Enterprise Institute senior fellow Eli Lehrer appearing on NationalReview.com, the author makes the case against the Treasury's mention of eliminating the credit union tax-exemption in its Business Taxation and Global Competitiveness backgrounder. The Treasury paper had the national credit union trade associations up in arms earlier this month.

“Not only would the 90 million or so Americans who belong to credit unions end up paying this tax directly, but the tax would likely ripple through the economy, restricting already tight access to credit, and making just about everything a bit more expensive,” Lehrer wrote.

He added, “Quite simply, credit unions provide a vital balance wheel for America's lending economy and a key source of financial liquidity…As America appears ready to undergo a credit crunch, credit unions can help soften the blow.

“Raising their taxes, of course, wouldn't shut down credit unions…Because they have few suppliers in the traditional sense, have no stockholders, and compensate their executives at non-profit levels, credit unions would simply pass the tax increase directly to their members.”

Lehrer added that taxing credit unions “would not even cover the federal government's asthma and allergy research efforts over the next ten years.”

NCSL Policy on State Sovereignty for Financial Services Upheld

BOSTON — At its recent annual meeting, the National Conference of State Legislatures reconsidered and approved its policy in support of dual chartering for financial services.

The NCSL Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce Committee renewed its “State Sovereignty in Financial Services Policy,” according to NASCUS. “NASCUS was pleased that the NCSL re-adopted its policy on state sovereignty for financial institutions,” NASCUS President/CEO Mary Martha Fortney said on the organization's Web site, www.nascus.org. “The dual charter provides the healthy competition for regulators, the industry and consumers. Further, state charters play a key role in individual state economies and serve consumers in diverse, important ways across the nation.”

Last year, the NCSL Financial Services Committee re-adopted its policy on credit union dual chartering.

“For most of our history, this bifurcation of regulatory authority has well served our nation's economic well being,” the policy reads. “The ability of states to regulate banking, insurance, securities and credit unions has allowed state legislatures and governments to meet the needs of local economies and respond to the values and concerns of local citizens.”

Hampel Talks Mortgages on CNBC

CUNA Chief Economist Bill Hampel appeared on the CNBC Monday afternoon broadcast of “Closing Bell,” hosted by Maria Bartiromo, Aug. 20 discussing the fluctuations of the national mortgage market. Hampel highlighted that credit unions are still getting plenty of mortgages in the door and remain a great source during this credit crunch. Hampel was joined on the program by Wells Fargo Advantage Funds portfolio manager W. Frank Koster (right).