See and be seen. That's what credit unions are trying to accomplish these days with the American public, but the NCUA's gag order on WesCorp CEO Philip Perkins reminds me of what my mother used to say: “Children should be seen and not heard.” Like an errant child, the agency has silenced this legitimate and informed source of information regarding the corporate credit union proposed regulations.

Last week I did a Webinar for the National Cooperative Business Association on public relations. I used the NBA's attempt to quash the picture of Wizards player Gilbert Arenas, who is accused of pulling a gun on a teammate in the locker room, finger guns ablaze as an example of precisely what not to do. Trying to eliminate negative press rather than working with it only draws more attention to the problem. This is precisely what Chip Filson demonstrated with his latest column “Why NCUA's Silencing of WesCorp Was a Terrible Mistake and How to Correct It” (www.creditunions.com), in which he not only criticized the NCUA, which is not a big surprise coming from him, but he also posted WesCorp's letter to members and it's 25-page analysis. American democracy would not exist without a free press.

But what of the free market? President Obama has announced he wants to limit the size of banks, mergers, investments and the intermingling of various parts of the financial services market. While the banking industry, among others, got greedy and overstepped the bounds of reason, I'm wary of efforts by the government to interfere with the free market. Often these attempts are done in knee-jerk fashion and for reasons that are not always in the best interest of the public though that's the usual guise.

Basically, the administration's proposal would “ensure that no bank or financial institution that contains a bank will own, invest in or sponsor a hedge fund or private equity fund?unrelated to serving customers for its own profit” and “limit consolidation of our financial sector.” On the surface, credit unions would not have too much to worry about from the first provision, and it could sound reasonable. The second point is more targeting the Citigroups of the banking world. However, credit unions should keep an eye on both items, just as some credit unions were originally roped into the systemic risk tax intended to protect taxpayers from large bank failures.

At the same time, could these restrictions create more competition for credit unions? Just something to ponder.

In making the announcement, the president noted, “My resolve to reform the system is only strengthened when I see a return to old practices at some of the very firms fighting reform. And when I see record profits at some of the very firms claiming that they cannot lend more to small business, cannot keep credit card rates low and cannot refund taxpayers for the bailout.? It is exactly this kind of irresponsibility that makes clear reform is necessary.” Credit unions really need to jump on this statement and use it for all its worth in lobbying and press efforts, from expanding business lending to ensuring that credit unions are not roped into reforms that were not intended for them.

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