The Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) called on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Trump administration to ensure credit unions, particularly those serving military and veteran communities, are prioritized in the administration’s 2025 Main Street regulatory reform agenda.
In a letter sent Wednesday, DCUC President/CEO Anthony Hernandez commended Secretary Bessent’s commitment to shifting financial regulation away from Wall Street and toward empowering community-based financial institutions. “Defense credit unions are not-for-profit cooperatives rooted in the communities they serve — on and off military bases,” Hernandez wrote. “We share the Treasury’s vision for a more inclusive, opportunity-driven economy, and we urge the Treasury to ensure credit unions are fully empowered to help make that vision a reality.”
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The letter’s top recommendation was to modernize or eliminate the Member Business Lending (MBL) cap, which limits credit unions to lending no more than 12.25% of their assets to small businesses. “Veteran-owned small businesses are disappearing, and financing is often the biggest barrier,” DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak said. “Removing or adjusting the MBL cap — especially exempting loans to veteran-owned businesses — would unleash billions in new lending, create up to 140,000 jobs, and cost taxpayers nothing.”
DCUC also flagged other regulatory challenges: Restrictive field-of-membership rules, excessive compliance burdens designed for large banks and inequities in capital requirements. The letter further raised concerns about proposed federal fee caps that could unintentionally reduce access to credit and checking services.
“We are ready to be a partner in building a stronger economy for everyday Americans — including the veterans and service members who have given so much to this country,” Hernandez said.
DCUC concluded by requesting a meeting with Secretary Bessent and Treasury officials to discuss credit union-led solutions to promote economic growth and financial inclusion.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
