To help bring credit union boards into the age of communications technology, U.S. Sen. Katie Britt has reintroduced the bipartisan Credit Union Board Modernization Act.
She is joined on the legislation by fellow Senate Banking Committee members Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.)
“I’m grateful for this legislation that would address an outdated and hindering regulation imposed on our local credit unions,” Britt (R-Montgomery) said. “These institutions play a vital role in supporting Main Street communities across Alabama, from equipping small businesses and families with the resources they need to providing capital to the most underserved Alabamians, and unnecessary red tape ultimately stifles their work.
“I’m proud to join my colleagues in this bipartisan, commonsense effort.”
The bipartisan legislation revises an antiquated federal law that requires credit union boards to meet in person every month. The bill relaxes this regulatory burden that was instated before modern technology allowed for frequent communications and allows credit unions to focus on their core mission of providing financial services to their members.
“Credit unions should be allowed to spend less time in unnecessary board meetings and more time serving their members,” said Hagerty. “My legislation will revise outdated federal regulations by setting aside regulatory micromanagement and allowing credit unions the flexibility to focus on providing quality financial services to rural communities and members across the country.”
Blunt Rochester said the legislation will help small and rural credit unions by cutting red tape.
“It is far past time that the arcane requirements for credit unions are removed,” she said. “This bill is an essential step toward improving the functionality of credit unions up and down my home state of Delaware, especially those small and rural.
“I look forward to continuing this bipartisan effort alongside Senator Hagerty and our colleagues to ensure credit unions spend less time maneuvering through red tape and more time serving their communities and promoting financial well-being.”
Britt, who was named the League of Southeastern Credit Unions’ 2023 Federal Lawmaker of the Year for Alabama, was a cosponsor of this bipartisan legislation in the 118th Congress. The full text of the bill can be found here.
Britt recently participated in a Senate Banking Committee hearing to investigate the causes of debanking, a discriminatory financial services practice. She emphasized how critical community banks and local credit unions are to serving Alabama’s communities through their relationship banking models, and as an alternative source of credit to those who have otherwise been denied.
“I also just want to point out something that my colleagues have to hear me say all of the time, and that is just how grateful I am for our community, banks, and credit unions in Alabama that serve our local communities and give people access to the American Dream, and remember that that is actually what they’re there for,” she said in the hearing. “So, thank you to them.”
