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A special message from Mary Martha Fortney, President and CEO,
January 15, 2008
 I am pleased to begin 2008 with the opportunity to learn about and confront new issues, while standing firm in our support of other matters. NASCUS has long believed that credit unions should have access to alternative capital.
At the end of last year, a report was released, which provides further support that credit unions should have access to additional forms of capital.
The report, supported by NASCUS and others, was authored by the Filene Research Institute, Alternative Capital for U.S. Credit Unions? A Review and Extension of Evidence Regarding Public Policy Reform. In the report, Robert F. Hoel, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Business, Colorado State University, and Filene Fellow in Residence, makes the case for expanded sources of capital for credit unions.
NASCUS elevated the importance of this issue when it created a subcommittee on capital modernization to study the feasibility of alternative capital for credit unions. NASCUS asked the Filene Research Institute to synthesize existing research about alternative capital and to fill in informational and analytical gaps. The project was funded in part by a generous grant from the Corporate Credit Union Network.
The report addresses three fundamental questions:
• Is it in the public interest to permit U.S credit unions greater access to alternative capital sources?
• Can credit unions use alternative capital to expand their capital bases in a way that will not dilute their cooperative ownership, values, and governance structure?
• What alternative capital mechanisms would be most appropriate and feasible?
This study is important for credit unions because it combines existing literature in the fields of credit unions, capital formation and public policy concerning alternative capital. It presents factual reasoning regarding why alternative capital makes sense for credit unions. NASCUS will use the Filene Research Institute’s report as a tool to educate Congress and others within the credit union system about how alternative capital could benefit credit unions.
If you have questions, or would like to join our effort to promote alternative capital for credit unions, please contact NASCUS at (703) 528-8351.
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