WASHINGTON — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Congress never intended to allow credit unions to be ground down by federal bureaucracy.
CU Times spoke with Gingrich at the Mayflower Hotel, where NAFCU hosted its annual Congressional Caucus event Wednesday. He was at the venue to speak to another group.
Gingrich said he does not support higher risk-based capital requirements proposed by the NCUA.
“I think it's very important to continue to fight on the grounds that credit unions are different. They don't take the same risks as big Wall Street banks. They shouldn't be subject to the same kind of concerns and considerations and there really should be a unique focus on credit unions – what they do, what risk they run, which are always lower than the risk being run by Wall Street banks,” Gingrich said.
“I think it's very dangerous for the entire health of the credit union industry to have the kind of regulations begin to flow over onto credit unions that were really much more appropriate for very different kinds of institutions,” he added.
Gingrich was also asked what he thinks the House Financial Services committee should do to address the risk-based capital proposal.
“After the election there may have to be hearings and they may have to look seriously at legislation modifying and making clearer the intent of Congress. I don't think Congress ever intended to have credit unions ground down by federal bureaucracy or put in the same box as very, very large worldwide banks and Wall Street,” Gingrich said.
The former presidential candidate also praised CUNA for choosing former Congressman Jim Nussle (R-Iowa) as its new CEO.
“I think Jim Nussle is a terrific choice. He is very smart – very experienced. He will bring an integrity and an intelligence to the job and I can't imagine anybody who would do a better job of speaking out and explaining the unique pattern of credit unions and how they serve their members,” Gingrich said.
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