NCUA Board Nominee Tanya Otsuka Faces Senate Committee

Exactly one month after President Joe Biden announced her nomination to the NCUA Board, Tanya Otsuka appeared before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on Thursday to answer questions from its legislative members.

Otsuka, who would replace Board Member Rodney Hood, whose term expired in August, would become the first Asian-American to serve on the NCUA Board, if confirmed.

During opening statements, Otsuka said she was honored to be nominated for the position. She added, “The NCUA’s mission of ensuring a strong system of cooperative credit is one that resonates with me both personally and professionally.”

Otsuka stated her grandmother and family were forced into an internment camp in Arkansas during World War II, and similarly, her grandfather and his family were imprisoned at an internment camp in Arizona.

“Like my grandparents, many Japanese Americans faced the same struggle, and were often met with discrimination when they tried to deposit money or get a loan,” Otsuka said. “Some took matters into their own hands, forming a credit union so that Japanese Americans could access financial services and help each other rebuild their lives. Today, that credit union is still active and insured by the NCUA. Experiences like this embody the cooperative spirit and exemplify the important role that credit unions play in our communities and economy.”

Committee Chairman Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) knows Otsuka well as she has served on the Senate Banking Committee staff since 2019. “She’s exceptionally well qualified,” Brown said. “She served as a key member of my banking and housing committee staff. She crafted legislation. She provided strategic advice on banking issues and credit union policy.”

While Republicans on the committee who questioned Otsuka focused on the NCUA potentially adjusting risk policies around climate change and stated their objections to such a move, those lawmakers appeared to be accepting and supportive of Otsuka’s nomination.

Otsuka told members, if approved, she would work to ensure that the NCUA fulfills its mission to protect the credit union system.

She added, “One priority I would like to focus on if confirmed, however, is to make sure that credit unions, especially smaller ones, can continue to stay competitive and provide affordable financial services to their members in a constantly evolving financial system. Small credit unions serve a lot of areas of this country that do not have access to financial services in the same way as other parts of the country, so I think that’s really critical to the strength of our overall economy.”

Thursday afternoon, Virginia Credit Union League President/CEO Carrie Hunt released a statement supporting Otsuka’s nomination.

“The Virginia Credit Union League looks forward to working with Ms. Otsuka should she be confirmed,” Hunt said. “We are very excited to see how she will bring her talents to the credit union industry.”

“It’s vitally important that we actively engage in the regulatory review and comment process, the NCUA budget process, and that we use every opportunity to inform and educate NCUA board members about the challenges and opportunities our credit unions are navigating. Regulation plays an outsized role in our ability to remain relevant and competitive in a marketplace driven by evolving consumer expectations, technology and the economic landscape,” Hunt added.

Otsuka initally served on the Committee staff as a fellow on detail from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and joined the staff fulltime in 2020. Otsuka was also a staff attorney and counsel at the FDIC, where she worked on a broad range of banking issues. She began her career at the FDIC as a law clerk in 2010 and an Honors Attorney in 2011.