LAS VEGAS —  Credit union mortgage executives attending the American Credit Union Mortgage Association's 16th annual conference heard from a trio of lobbyists and lawyers who urged them to get involved in contesting new regulations from the Consumer Financial Products Bureau as well as the policy debate about the future structure of the secondary mortgage market.

ACUMA kicked off its annual conference at the Cosmopolitan Hotel here on Monday and will wrap up on Thursday.

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Concerns about ongoing CFPB regulations and their associated costs were an undercurrent of discussions for the entire conference so when three leading credit union executives with years of legal and lobbying experience appeared on a panel Tuesday to discuss legislative and regulatory issues to attendees, the room was packed.

On the panel were Steven Eisenberg, general counsel for the 1.1 million member, $15 billion Pentagon Federal Credit Union in Alexandria, Va., John McKechnie, senior vice president of Total Spectrum, a Washington consulting firm, and former executive with both NCUA and CUNA; and Larry Blanchard, a retired former lobbyist with CUNA Mutual Group and other credit union organizations.