Postal Banking Is Back on the Congressional Agenda
Postal banking could raise several regulatory and consumer protection issues, and present significant competition to CUs.
The U.S. Postal Service may be going broke, but postal banking is not a solution to the crisis, NAFCU officials told a House committee.
But the president of the union representing letter carriers disagreed.
The Postal Service lost $3.8 billion in FY18, Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said in preparation for a Tuesday hearing on the Postal Service.
Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, told the committee that there are some basic financial services that post offices could offer under current law. He did not describe those services.
Rolando’s union is a member of the Coalition for Postal Banking, a group of consumer and community groups.
But Rolando said that any discussion of the postal service offering more extensive banking services will require a full postal Board of Governors to suggest such large changes.
The Board of Governors, whose members are nominated by the president and is confirmed by the Senate, currently has vacancies and has not had a quorum since 2014.
Thaler told the committee in written testimony that postal banking will raise several regulatory and consumer protection issues and that it would present significant competition to private sector entities.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, introduced postal banking legislation during the last Congress.
In the House, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has said she wants to use her seat on the House Financial Services Committee to explore the idea.
However, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the new ranking GOP member on the panel is vehemently opposed to postal banking and a postal task force appointed by President Trump nixed the idea.