On Wednesday, April 16, life at the credit union industry’s regulator changed dramatically when it was revealed that President Trump fired Democratic Board Members Todd Harper and Tonya Otsuka, both of whom had yet to finish out their current terms. This unprecedented event left the NCUA with just one active Board Member - Chairman Kyle Hauptman - and raised numerous questions about the future of both the agency and the credit union industry. Can the NCUA function with just one board member? Will Trump appoint new board members? Could Harper and Otsuka fight the actions against them in court? What’s happening with the NCUA’s staff? And, was this move a step toward consolidating all financial regulators, including the NCUA, under the Treasury umbrella?
For answers, we booked a last-minute interview with Elizabeth Ergubian, partner at the Washington, D.C.-based Atlas Advocacy, who previously served at the NCUA as Director of External Affairs and Communications Policy Advisor under then-Chair Todd Harper. Ergubian has a wealth of knowledge about the inner workings of the NCUA, and doesn’t hold back when it comes to sharing what she believes is really going on at the agency during this tumultuous time.
Stay tuned for a more in-depth interview with Ergubian, which will be released at a later date when the industry isn’t in emergency mode. But for now, press play on this breaking news podcast episode, which we hope will help you make sense of this week’s unfolding chaos.
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
