Lobby of the NCUA.
The surprise dismissal of two Democratic members of the NCUA Board, Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka, by President Donald Trump has reignited long-standing concerns about the politicization of financial regulators and fueled renewed debate over whether the U.S. should consolidate oversight of the financial system under a single regulatory body.
“The decision of the White House to fire me before the completion of my term is wrong,” Harper said in a statement, calling the move a violation of bipartisan protections for credit union oversight. Otsuka echoed the sentiment, stating, “This is yet another attempt to undermine the rule of law and blatantly ignore Congress and our democratic values.”
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These developments arrived amid renewed scrutiny of the fragmented U.S. financial regulatory framework. A landmark Filene Research Institute report, Evaluating the Single Financial Services Regulator Question, warned more than a decade ago that America’s “outdated,” “complex” and “inefficient” oversight structure could undermine regulatory effectiveness. The report cited that over 33% of countries had already moved to a single regulator model, streamlining supervision of banks, insurers, and credit unions under one prudential authority.
The report also cautioned that while consolidation could reduce overlap and improve consistency, it could risk diluting the specialized oversight credit unions currently receive from the NCUA. “Consolidation of the federal financial services regulators that includes the elimination of the independent credit union regulator would, in effect, end credit unions as we know them in America,” CUNA warned at the time.
Harper, formerly NCUA Chair under President Biden, said his tenure focused on “making the credit union system safer and more resilient” through bipartisan policymaking. His and Otsuka’s removal has amplified fears that independent financial oversight is being eroded by partisan influence, precisely the kind of regulatory imbalance that the single-regulator debate seeks to address.
READ MORE: Evaluating the Single Financial Services Regulator Question report from Filene Research Institute.
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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.
