March 28, 2024
MBA: Urge MO State Reps To Oppose Credit Union Expansion Bill
The Missouri credit union association is pursuing state legislation that would be a dramatic shift to current field-of-membership requirements for state-chartered credit unions. MBA urges its members to contact their state representatives and ask them to strongly oppose House Bill 2452.
House Bill 2452, in part, would allow credit unions to include bordering counties of branch locations, rather than just the credit union headquarters, as part of their field-of-membership. The bill also would allow the surviving credit union in a merger to add the field-of-membership of the merged credit union(s). This will allow a large credit union to strategically purchase smaller credit unions and potentially expand across the entire state.
Missouri’s large and aggressive credit unions are pushing for this change so that they can expand beyond their existing communities, which would increase their commercial lending capacity and further remove them from their original mission.
“The results would harm Missourians by increasing unfair competition with community banks and by reducing the number of small credit unions through mergers and acquisitions,” said MBA President and CEO Jackson Hataway.
He added that banks believe in competition, “but we are opposed to an unlevel playing field where the largest credit unions are allowed to look and act like banks but don’t have to play by the same rules as banks.”
MBA expects the bill to be heard in the House Financial Institutions Committee in the next few weeks and urges bankers to reach out to their state representatives to oppose House Bill 2452.
“They need to know the differences between banks and credit unions and the threat this bill poses to their constituents and local banks,” Hataway said.
MBA Comment Letter Opposes CFPB NSF Proposal
MBA filed a comment letter Monday opposing a proposal from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that would prohibit nonsufficient funds fees when transactions are declined instantaneously. The CFPB has conceded that such fees are rarely assessed but is proceeding with the proposal, in part because the bureau asserts that consumers do not understand or recall account terms and disclosures.
“Bank fees are always disclosed at account opening. Banks provide many innovative services to assist customers in managing their deposit accounts and determining their available funds,” wrote MBA President and CEO Jackson Hataway. “The CFPB’s stance regarding bank fees and particularly NSF fees completely and intentionally disregards consumer choice and responsibility in matters of banking services.”
MBA’s comment letter notes the CFPB admitted that “it is proposing this rule primarily as a preventive measure and is guessing at future possibilities that may or may not ever occur in the financial services industry.”
“This practice sets a dangerous precedent and will ultimately do the opposite of the stated goals of including more consumers in the banking system,” Hataway said.
VISA, Mastercard Reach Settlement on Interchange Fees
A settlement reached by VISA and Mastercard with U.S. merchants this week would reduce credit card interchange fees and cap those fees for five years.
The agreement is part of a landmark antitrust settlement that requires approval from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No 05-md-01720).
The settlement comes as Congress debates legislation that would impose government mandates on credit card routing networks. News of the settlement prompted reactions from lawmakers on X.
“With all parties having agreed, there is no reason for Congress to intervene with ill-advised legislation like the Credit Card Competition Act,” wrote Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
The legislation sponsored by Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., would force card-issuing financial institutions to choose among routing networks set by the Federal Reserve. MBA adamantly opposes this bill and has called out Sen. Josh Hawley for co-sponsoring this bill that dramatically reduce interchange income from credit card transactions while increasing security and fraud risk. MBA encourages its members to contact Sen. Eric Schmitt and their U.S. representatives to oppose the bill.
Electronic Payments Coalition Executive Chairman Richard Hunt said “the agreement helps small businesses more than a haphazard, experimental piece of legislation that only benefits the largest corporate mega-stores ever would. Congress should put an end to the ill-advised Durbin-Marshall mandates and let the agreement merchants reached stand on its own.”
Banks Encouraged To Participate In MBA’s Salary Survey
To be competitive and successful in today’s job market involves having the right team in place. A major component for employee recruitment and retention is the compensation package. How do you know what the right salary is for a position or what benefit is most appealing to employees?
One way to find out is to participate in the 2024 MBA Bank Compensation and Benefits Survey.
This MBA survey collects information from banks on nearly 100 full-time positions. The results compiled by bank submissions are reported by asset categories and geographic regions. All data is reported in summary format to prevent identification of a specific bank’s compensation information. All data submitted remains confidential and will be used for not be used for any other purposes.
Data collection submission for the 2024 survey will close Wednesday, April 10. Survey results will be available later this summer. MBA members participating in the 2024 survey may purchase the results at the discounted price. Contact MBA with questions about the survey.