National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions

and lasting relationships are built with the end goal of making the credit union grow stronger. Business View Magazine recently spoke with Dan Berger, President & CEO of NAFCU, about the association’s beginnings, current challenges, and his insights into the future landscape of the credit union industry. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation. BVM: What spurred the creation of NAFCU and how has it evolved? Berger: “When NAFCU was formed in 1967, banks had FDIC insurance and were backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, as they still are today. But Credit Unions didn’t have anything like that, so NAFCU was founded, back then, to create NCUA self-insurance funds. With deposit insurance, they can compete on equal footing with the banks around the country. “Our association membership is made up of federally-chartered and state-chartered credit unions that are federally insured. We have a thousand members of all sizes, from $10 million in assets to the largest Credit Union – Navy Federal – which is $120 billion. We cover the full gamut, but all our members are credit unions, across the board. The dues formula is the same for everyone, based on asset size. “When I started in the credit union industry 14 years ago, there were 23,000 credit unions. We’re down to just over 5,000 now. Throughout the financial services space, there is a lot of consolidation in community banks, small insurance companies, and it’s the same for credit unions. Consolidation is happening for several reasons: from a competitive landscape point of view, and there’s also the cost of technology. It’s expensive to have a robust technology platform. The third reason is compliance costs. Every time a regulator or Congress passes a law that promulgates a rule, that’s a compliance cost – and it does nothing to add to the bottom line.” BVM: What is the primary focus of NAFCU? NAT IONAL ASSOC I AT ION OF FEDERALLY- INSURED CREDI T UNIONS Berger: “In Washington, DC, from a business perspective, associations have a tendency to try to be all things to all people. In an effort to narrow the focus, when I became CEO seven years ago, I flew out and sat down with CEOs across the country and asked them, ‘What do you want from a trade association.’ They all said three things: Advocacy, Education and Training, and Compliance Assistance. So that’s all we do now. We’re hyper-focused with all our efforts and resources on advocacy, education, and compliance assistance. And the CEOs love that.” BVM: What divisions make up NAFCU and how do they fulfill the mandate? Dan Berger, President & CEO of NAFCU