WASHINGTON -- CUNA and NAFCU have stepped up efforts toreintroduce the U.S. Treasury Department to credit unions and theunique niche they fill in the financial services market, accordingto executives with both associations. Last week, the departmentreleased a proposal which included eliminating both the credit andthrift charters and both the NCUA and the Office of ThriftSupervision, the federal regulator for mutual banks.

Both CUNA and NAFCU plan letters to the department this week,reminding the Treasury of the work credit unions do helpingconsumers otherwise without financial services and how theirparticular governance and capital requirements mean they need anindependent regulator. Executives from CUNA in particular seemedalmost bewildered at how Treasury, an agency which appeared to havehad a strong relationship with the credit union industry in past,could have apparently misunderstood credit union's so badly.

CUNA associate general counsel Mary Dunn pointed out toreporters this morning that former Treasury Secretary John Snow wasa regular attendee at CUNA Government Affairs Conferences and thatthe Treasury Department had a strong relationship with the creditunion industry under the previous years of the BushAdministration.

"We are concerned that some of the people who came in with thecurrent Secretary might have swallowed banker rhetoric about creditunions," Dunn said. In addition to the letters, Dunn said CUNAwould also likely seek meeting with Treasury officials as hasbecome one of its frequent approaches to contact with federalagencies.