What a liberal-leaning NCUA means for credit unions (John "Bernie" Winne,)

 By   Ken McCarthy December 21, 2023, 12:11 p.m. EST 3 Min Read

On Wednesday, the Senate confirmed Tanya Otsuka's appointment to the NCUA board.

Senate Banking Committee

The U.S. Senate Wednesday confirmed Tanya Otsuka as the newest member of the National Credit Union Administration's board of directors, giving Democrats control of the board for the first time in seven years.

President Biden announced Otsuka's nomination in September. Her term on the NCUA board, alongside Chairman Todd Harper and vice chairman Kyle Hauptman, will run through Aug. 2, 2029. 

Once sworn in, she will succeed Rodney Hood, whose term on the board officially expired on August 2. Otsuka will also be the first Asian American to sit on the NCUA's board in the organization's 53-year history. 

The change in the board's makeup—the Republicans controlled the three-member board  since May 2016—will shift the board's priorities toward more regulation and focus on issues such as climate change.

Harper's philosophy and influence will become more powerful with a second Democratic vote, said Mark Treichel, a former executive director of the NCUA who now runs Credit Union Exam Solutions.

Harper pushed hard to get Otsuka on the board prior to last week's budget meeting, according to Treichel. The two Republicans on the board, Hauptman and Hood, lobbied for reductions in the proposed budget and eventually cut 7% from the original proposal.

"Harper can ignore the Republican desires much easier now than before," Treichel said. "In July, he will get a second bite at the budget and can move money into his priorities easily with a second vote from Otsuka."

Treichel also said he expects to see a continual increase in consumer compliance-related initiatives for the agency. That will include more staffing and specialists in that area in 2024 at the mid-year budget, as well as in 2025 and beyond.  

"I expect the NCUA to be even more in lock step with the [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] on overdraft fees and NSF fees. Credit unions should expect a full court press on this," Treichel said. 

Otsuka is currently senior counsel under Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, within the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

Hood was appointed as chairman of the NCUA by former U.S. President Trump in 2019, and was succeeded in 2021 by current chairman Todd Harper.

John "Bernie" Winne, the former president and CEO of $425 million-asset Boston Firefighters Credit Union in Dorchester, Massachusetts, said Otsuka "appears to lean to the left."

Winne, who retired in 2021, said Otsuka has an impressive resume and should bring young energy to the position.

"However, it seems likely that she will align with Chairman Harper," Winne said. "This could be a problem for credit unions in the form of additional unnecessary regulation."

Winne said Harper's agenda was held in check with two Republican board members and he hopes that Otsuka studies the issues, gains perspective from the industry and makes her own decisions.

"Simply falling in line with the chairman will certainly not be good news for credit unions," he said.