In Case You Missed It: Wall Street Journal Highlights Credit Union Expansion Without Limits
In case you missed it, on August 1 the Wall Street
Journal published an article highlighting a credit union’s plan
for growth with “no speed limit.” The CEO of the credit union,
Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed), has a very public plan
called “Drive to 75,” with a goal of “pressing regulatory
boundaries” by more than quadrupling the credit union’s assets
from approximately $18 billion to $75 billion by 2025. According
to the article, the credit union advertises “Great Rates for
Everyone” despite the common-bond requirement. PenFed also
acquired 13 smaller credit unions in a 20-month span between 2015
and 2017, before receiving a regulatory warning about new
deals.
The article also quotes Robert Taylor, the chief executive
of a much smaller credit union – $240 million-asset Idaho
State University Federal Credit Union, who said credit unions
that engage in “expansionism for the sake of expansionism” risk
the industry’s reputation. In the article he asked, with an
“anything goes” approach to credit union membership, “How can we
possibly go to Washington and say ‘We are the small credit union
serving the small guy’?”
As you are all very aware, for years our association has been a
very vocal advocate expressing that these very large, bank-like
credit unions that have clearly strayed from their original
purpose of serving those of modest means, should be paying taxes
and supporting the needs of our country.
The full article can be accessed here.