Thomas Renz, president and chief development officer for the $34 million Commodore Perry FCU in Oak Harbor, Ohio, remains an outspoken executive after his cooperative won the 2013 Trailblazer Award for Outstanding Political Action.
Renz, a member of the CUNA Examination and Supervision Subcommittee, appealed the credit union's 2011 examination results.
"The examination process has been updated a couple of times since we've gone through this. I'd like to think that we called to attention some of the issues there," he said.
Renz said he has stayed in contact with both the NCUA and CUNA to provide feedback on the examination process. However, Renz said addressing the risk-based capital proposal is a major priority, since Commodore Perry will eventually cross the $50 million threshold.
"I've already told the board that in the next few years, as we continue to grow, that we'll have to make a decision of whether we want to slow down as we approach that $50 million threshold unless the NCUA raises the cap on it," Renz said.
In general, there are too many regulations, which are getting in the way of doing business, Renz stressed. He added that the NCUA and the CFPB could regulate much more effectively if each agency had a closer working relationship with the industry.
"Safety and soundness is in the interest of the regulatory agencies but also of the industry at large. Every credit union that fails is a tragedy. We're not competitors – we're cooperatives and we don't want to see each other failing and if anybody is abusing the system, then that's not something we in the industry want to see either," Renz said.
"There seems to be a concern in the executive branch about being too close to the people they are regulating because they do not want Congress to feel like they are cozying up too much with the people they are regulating. I think we have to help lawmakers and agencies recognize that's the wrong the approach."
While he continues to voice his opinion on regulatory matters, Renz has stayed focused on the challenges facing Commodore Perry.
"I have some concerns about field of membership, which I'll talk more about when I announce the new business model for the credit union industry," Renz said, referencing a project he has been working on for three years.
"It's a way of structuring the business to be focused on community development and assisting people who are unbanked, and basing your business on serving those people in a socially responsible way," he said.
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