A slate of breakout sessions provided in-depth information on a wide range of issues facing credit unions for Governmental Affairs Conference attendees Tuesday.

America’s Credit Unions Head of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler hosted a session on impactful lobbying, with members of America’s Credit Unions’ advocacy team sharing tips on how credit unions can effectively communicate the credit union difference with members of Congress.

Credit unions are bipartisan, and there are key issues that can be tailored for each party to help communicate credit unions’ impact. This ranges from credit unions’ focus on communities and the underserved to their small business outreach and dedication to making loans that gets capital out to consumers and businesses.

Despite unified Republican control of Congress and the White House now, the advocacy team encouraged continued engagement with all members of Congress, and Democrats will remember the engagement when in leadership again.

On the regulatory side, there’s new leadership at both the NCUA and CFPB, each agency had a panel focused on what credit unions can expect going forward. 

NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman—who announced yesterday onstage at GAC that NCUA would no longer publish overdraft and NSF fee information—released a list of his priorities upon taking office, many of which align with America’s Credit Unions priorities.

America’s Credit Unions Regulatory Advocacy Senior Counsel Luke Martone and Atlas Advocacy Partner Elizabeth Eurgubian, who worked for the NCUA from 2022 until earlier this year, discussed what policies Hauptman may pursue and how he will govern the agency as a chair who is the only Republican on the board (Hauptman was appointed by a Republican, while board members Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka nominated by Democrats).

A similar session featuring Head of Regulatory Advocacy James Akin and three former CFPB employees addressed what the future of the CFPB may look like. With both Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought named acting director in quick succession, and former FDIC board member Jonathan McKernan nominated to fill the position, there are many questions about the future of the CFPB.

Akin and the group said it’s likely President Donald Trump’s series of executive orders will recalibrate how the White House and CFPB work together, with the OMB likely taking a more prominent role in policymaking.

They also noted attorneys general in certain states may look to take up the CFPB’s consumer protection activities but may struggle without CFPB resources.  

On the main stage, America’s Credit Unions Chief Economist and Vice President of Data and Research Mike Schenk, Senior Economist and Data Insights & Analytics Consultant Ligia Vado, and Credit Union Impact Data Intelligence Leader Mico Murphy provided a comprehensive overview of the Credit Union Impact Dashboard.

The dashboard is an interactive tool that provides access to invaluable data for industry professionals to craft a compelling credit union story in meetings with policymakers. The dashboards integrate, combine, and visualize data into a “single source of truth,” said Vado.

The group detailed additional dashboards that credit unions can access in the future, ranging from mortgage lending, credit cards, auto lending, and delinquency, and each providing a “birds eye view of credit union greatness.”

“Every credit union advocate should know these stories,” concluded Vado.  

America’s Credit Unions Chief Advocacy Officer Carrie Hunt and Senior Vice President Greg Mesack hosted a session on the future of housing finance reform in the current administration.  

More than two-thirds of members were not in Congress for the last housing finance reform push. The panel noted that as the Trump administration works on this issue, it will affect credit unions in the secondary mortgage market and ultimately impact the industry as a whole.