I always enjoy reading Marvin Umholtz's monthly dissertation on credit unions and the financial services industry. More often than not he is on point with his views and offers a good analysis of issues. However, his letter to the editor in the June 17, 2015 edition of Credit Union Times contains a few statements that need to be corrected or clarified.
Mr. Umholtz is of the belief that during the corporate crisis credit unions faced in 2008 and 2009, the U.S. Treasury was the guiding hand in crafting the solutions that ultimately prevented countless natural person credit unions from failing.
Officials at the U.S. Treasury were without question extremely helpful in offering advice and counsel during that difficult period. Without their agreement to the steps the NCUA wanted to put in place to alleviate the crisis, and their assistance in loaning the money requested, the credit union industry, as we now know it, would look a whole lot different.
I at times am critical of the actions the NCUA takes or how they propose to correct a problem. But when their backs were up against the wall that critical year, staff at NCUA did not falter. In fact, when challenged, they developed and crafted unpresented solutions.
The need to involve the Treasury during the crisis enabled a new light to be shed on the NCUA and the credit union industry. The existence of corporate credit unions no longer was known only within the industry. They had gained the attention of Treasury officials.
Not having seen the long-standing agenda that allegedly exists within the Treasury to reform and restructure the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, it is hard to weigh what value it may have. Should such an agenda exist, not addressing it with Congress may be preventing changes for the better.
Whatever the future holds for the NCUSIF, it should not be forgotten that the corporate crisis brought it to center stage and the NCUA went to Treasury not only with the problem but the solution as well. You never approach Treasury with one and not the other. The NCUA did this one right.
Michael E. Fryzel
Attorney
Chicago, Ill.
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