Pub. 10 2015-2016 Issue 3

September/October 2015 9 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. Reach Frank Keating at keating@aba.com . © 2015 American Bankers Association. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. Call me for a quick response, competitive rates and flexible underwriting: Gene Uher – 605.201.1864 guher@bellbanks.com • Participation loans (commercial, agricultural, construction, operating lines and term loans) • Bank stock & ownership loans • Bank building financing • Business & personal loans for bankers • Multi-family permanent financing Partner with us for your participation and bank stock loan needs. bellbanks.com  |  Member FDIC 10307 grassroots letter-writing campaign in August that resulted in an outpouring of banker comment letters to NCUA on the proposal. The letters may not persuade NCUA, but they will slow down the process. That gives us time to bring Congress into the debate. If you are facing unfair and unbridled credit union competi- tion, write to your lawmakers today. (And if you aren’t, write anyway—because it’s just a matter of time before an aggres- sive credit union enters your market.) Let lawmakers know how the unlevel playing field between community banks and tax-subsidized credit unions is harming your ability to serve your customers. Unfortunately, the NCUA’s business lending proposal is only the beginning. The agency already has announced that it has an expanded field-of-membership rule and a secondary capital proposal in the works as well. This rulemaking trifecta, which could seriously undermine bank competitiveness, puts NCUA in “captive regulator” terri- tory, and it must be answered. The agency must be reminded not only of credit unions’ mission but also of its own: to ensure a safe and sound credit union system. 