WASHINGTON – CUNA reacted with a rare Sunday statement which angrily attacked a Bush Administration proposal for reforming the Federal financial regulatory structure that would reportedly eliminate NCUA.

“The plan, as we interpret it, would place a single bank regulator over credit unions–essentially turning credit unions into banks, said CUNA CEO Dan Mica in the statement.

“This makes no sense. This consolation plan will only result in increased loan rates, decreased savings rates, higher fees, and the loss of a not-for-profit alternative for the nation's 90 million credit union members.”

“Credit unions are not the cause of today's housing and credit crisis; indeed they have been lauded in the media and by policy makers for their performance and willingness to help consumers in these troubled times. It was no different during the Great Depression, the S&L crisis or any other turbulent economic period in our nation's history since the formation of credit unions nearly 100 years ago.”

“Time and again, credit unions were the one type of financial institution that did not require government assistance or rescue.”

“Any plan that would eliminate the credit union choice for consumers in the financial marketplace is poor public policy and extremely shortsighted. We will immediately move to energize our grassroots and political activists in the entire credit union movement to oppose any effort that would lead to the termination of the credit union system,” he argued.