• Requiring the National Credit Union Administration budget process to become more transparent by, for instance, requiring an annual open hearing on its spending plans;
• Helping credit unions make more small business loans by: fully exempting government-guaranteed business loans from the MBL cap; and increasing the de minimis credit union business loan amount to $500,000, among other changes;
• Making improvements to Regulation D, such as increasing the number of automatic transfers allowed from a members savings to share accounts;
• Increasing the maturity limit for higher education loans made by federal credit unions; and
• Increasing the NCUA board membership from three members to five members, including a state regulator's presence, and modernizing other aspects of the board structure.

"Credit unions are always growing, districts are changing, and members are moving across the county—or the country, even though they keep their credit union membership,” explained CUNA SVP of Political Affairs Richard Gose.  

In addition to the mobility of credit union members, the changing of legislative districts for the 2012 election cycle is a concern of many credit unions. As new district maps are approved, credit unions that have run the latest version of Project Zip Code (version 12.0) will automatically have their members matched to the current and new legislative districts.

This will give credit unions a great advantage as we talk to new legislators and candidates about the credit union difference.  

When credit union advocates meet with their legislators, it is important that the advocates show they are speaking on behalf of a larger constituency. Before coming to Topeka or DC to meet with a policymaker, advocates can go to the PZC website to create detailed reports that show how many credit union members live in that legislative district.  These numbers truly show the depth and breadth of the credit union system nationwide and stick with legislators.  

Before an elected official, be it a Senator or County Commissioner, visits a credit union branch, the PZC numbers again provide valuable context. The credit union can run reports and queries within Project Zip Code to show how many of their members are represented by the elected officials statewide down to counties and zip codes.

When credit unions share these numbers with elected officials, it informs the official how many people care about credit union issues in their district and keeps credit union issues on their mind.  

Project Zip Code protects the privacy of credit union members. No credit union membership information leaves the database when a credit union participates in Project Zip Code.  The only information uploaded to the website is the membership totals per legislative district and county.  

According to CUNA CEO Bill Cheney, "the voice of credit unions has been made stronger on Capitol Hill and in the state legislatures by sharing the Project Zip Code numbers.”   Running Project Zip Code is an important way for your credit union to get involved.  

For more information on PZC please contact Haley DaVee at or go to www.pzconline.com/install to get started.

KCUA's VP of Governmental & Public Affairs explains what is important to credit unions to Congressman Yoder.

On the steps of the Capitol with Congressman Mike Pompeo.

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• Cessna Employees Credit Union
• Credit Union of America
• Educational Credit Union
• Frontier Community Credit Union
• Hutchinson Credit Union
• K-State Federal Credit Union
• Kansas Corporate Credit Union
• Mainstreet Credit Union
• Meritrust Credit Union
• Mid American Credit Union
• TECU Credit Union
• White Eagle Credit Union
• Wichita Federal Credit Union

Appointments with legislators focused on regulatory relief and raising the member business lending cap. Lifting regulatory burden is also a top priority for CUNA, and many speakers also stressed the importance of regulatory relief.  

From a CUNA News Now article:

"We plan to continue our good working relationships with the agencies--we want them to respect us even if they don't like us--and continue to provide them with data to show how regulations impact credit union operations,'' CUNA Deputy General Counsel Mary Dunn said during a panel discussion.  

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) also stressed the importance of regulatory relief saying that credit unions should not have to "pay for the sins of Wall Street." He went on to urge credit unions to be vigilant about lobbying elected officials and letting them know of the added costs from regulatory burdens.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said the rising regulatory burdens on credit unions and other financial institutions needs to be addressed.  He went on to say he hoped credit unions and legislators can work together for credit union members to ensure a brighter future.

Member business lending was also a hot top at the GAC.

Rep. Maxine  Waters (D-Calif.) addressed the limits on member business loans and said increasing the MBL cap would help all consumers and support future credit union initiatives.

Speakers at the GAC included Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) who directed the spotlight to shine brightly on the credit union difference because "that’s what credit unions do-they work for their members”
She went on to say credit unions remained a bright spot in the financial industry

Other speakers included Haley Barbour, Former Governor of Mississippi, Tom Brokaw, Correspondent, NBC Nightly News, Jean Chatzky, Financial editor of Today Show and New York Daily News columnist, Terry McAuliffe, Former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and Chairman of Hillary Clinton for President.

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• Partners, and their participation in the campaign, are marketed free of charge via the campaign website and other promotional materials.
  

• Partners raise awareness in the community for their financial education programs and resources.
• The community learns more about financial education offerings to help them make more informed and effective decisions as consumers.
• In accordance with the Community Reinvestment Act, financial institutions can utilize Money Smart Month to invest in and meet the credit needs of the communities they serve.
• Aggregated evaluation results will be made available to participating partners.

More information

For more information, download the Partnership Packet (pdf). If you are interested in participating in Money Smart Month, please submit the completed Partnership Interest form (from the packet) to Gigi Wolf or call 816-881-2736 for mail or fax by February 15, 2013.