Mica: Interchange amendment hurts CU capital condition

WASHINGTON (5/24/10)-- (CUNA News Now) - In a Friday letter sent to U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Credit Union National Association (CUNA) President/CEO Dan Mica said that Sen. Richard Durbin's (D-Ill.) interchange amendment would "not only exacerbate" capital pressures for many credit unions, "but also will severely limit the ability to build and maintain capital of all the approximately 5,000 well-capitalized credit unions that offer debit cards."

The letter noted that CUNA has "tried hard to avoid emotionalism and hyperbole in the deliberations regarding the regulatory restructuring bill." However, Mica said, "It is no exaggeration that the impact of the interchange amendment will be severe across the credit union system and will result in limiting consumer choices in some areas."

Mica also called for more "meaningful capital reform" for credit unions to grant credit unions "a better definition of capital and mechanisms to raise additional capital."

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