Wood reported with each rule change, her staff and board members must make the time to understand the new requirement, modify the cooperative's computer systems, update internal processes, properly train staff on compliance liability and new policies, design and print new forms, and produce educational materials for members.

“Rules are often changed in the name of consumer protection, but when they make it harder or more expensive for me to serve my members, that's not consumer protection,” Wood contended. “Sometimes the new rules are difficult for us to decipher, and more so to explain and educate our members on the changes we are forced to make.”

She also reported that due to the anticipation of additional compliance burdens, her cooperative delayed offering indirect auto lending and decided not to offer small business loans for the time being.

Wood put the credit union's value in perspective by describing some of the loans it provided.

“I once did a loan for a man who just had his five granddaughters move back in with him because his daughter lost her job,” Wood related. “He needed $200 because the girls had contracted a medical condition at school. He couldn't afford the treatments until his next Social Security check, and the girls couldn't go back to school until he took care of them … we're a lifeline for our members.”

The witness panel faced several questions from senators, most being supportive. However, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told the two banking executives that she and fellow Democratic senators understood the need to ease regulatory burdens for small banks and credit unions, but would not roll back regulations for larger institutions.

Citing data from the Independent Community Bankers of America, she stated small banks received a boon after the passage of Dodd-Frank in the form of lower premiums on their FDIC insurance. She also pointed out during a banker's testimony that his institution spent $250,000 on compliance costs, not counting salaries – just a little more than the $230,000 the ICBA said small banks saved on their FDIC insurance because of Dodd-Frank.

Warren argued Dodd-Frank was “always a tradeoff,” and that more regulation has been balanced by lower costs.