www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ State-level interchange legislation is no longer a one-state story, and a federal preemption ruling has left credit unions on opposite sides of a line they did not draw. Mark Treichel, former Executive Director of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), talks with Jason Stverak, Chief Advocacy Officer of the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC), about where interchange fights stand, what the NCUA board vacancies mean heading into budget season, and why every credit union should have a government shutdown plan ready before the end of September. Interchange at the state level Massachusetts convened a commission to study interchange and has taken input from retailers, credit unions, card companies, and processors across multiple hearings — Jason testified at the third. Illinois passed an interchange law that has been delayed a year and is now in the courts. A federal judge, relying on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) position on federal preemption, ruled the law does not reach card networks, federally chartered banks, or other federally chartered savings institutions — but does reach federally chartered credit unions, state-chartered credit unions, and state-chartered banks. The NCUA has since moved on an interim rule extending the same exemption to federally chartered credit unions, with the comment period recently closed. That leaves state-chartered institutions carrying a compliance burden their federally chartered competitors do not. Jason's concern is structural: the strength of the credit union movement has always been the dual charter system, and a rule that effectively tells institutions to change charters to escape paperwork erodes it. Colorado's legislature passed an interchange bill that the governor vetoed; the issue has been introduced in a number of other states and in Puerto Rico. As more states pass their own versions, credit unions face the prospect of multiple interchange payment networks — and members who care about one thing only: whether the card works where they are. Marshall-Durbin in Washington The Marshall-Durbin interchange legislation remains contained, but not dead. DCUC is watching the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), floor amendments, and any must-pass vehicle that could carry it. Jason's framing: the worry is not a fair fight, it is a provision slipping into a bill at two in the morning in December. For defense credit unions, the stakes are specific. Interchange revenue funds the ability to extend credit to eighteen-year-old service members with no credit history — a $1,000 card to fix a car or buy groceries until payday. Take that away and the alternative is the payday lender outside the front gate. The NCUA board Chairman Kyle Hauptman is set to depart. John Crews has had his nomination hearing. As of August 1, Hauptman will have served a year past the end of his term. The Senate has roughly three weeks before its August recess, and the practical hope is that a nominee package moves — or that Crews is processed individually before the August 6 recess. Mark's point from the Executive Director's chair: get him seated in August, because the budget is coming, and a new board member approving a budget in his second month is not the scenario that produces an optimal budget. Separately, Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka are proceeding with their court case following the Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. Slaughter, which gave the president broad removal authority over independent agency heads with the Federal Reserve excepted. Their argument is that Slaughter is specific to the Federal Trade Commission. The case sits in the D.C. Circuit and may or may not resolve this year. Coast Guard pay and shutdown readiness The Coast Guard is part of the military but is funded through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), not the Department of Defense, absent a declared war. During the shutdowns, that meant Coast Guard members went unpaid. Credit unions filled the gap — Keesler Federal Credit Union committed its reserves to cover member paychecks; others set up food banks. Jason notes the balance-sheet reality: money going out increases, money coming in decreases, and examiners will see the reserve position. He credits the NCUA for working with credit unions through it. Looking ahead: no spending bills have been signed, and funding runs out September 30 at midnight. DCUC has already told its members to dust off their shutdown plans, because by mid-September members will be asking about mortgages and tuition, and members of Congress will be asking what programs are in place. Jackson Area and the banking trades On the alleged fraud at Jackson Area Federal Credit Union, both agree the issues are serious and warrant investigation, and that the industry should lead on governance, board training, and internal controls rather than wait to be led. What draws Jason's objection is the speed with which the banking trades pushed the story into congressional inboxes as evidence of an industry-wide problem, paired with the familiar asks: hearings, Form 990 filings, tax status. Mark adds a point from the record — the October 2025 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Inspector General report on Pulaski Savings Bank, a $45 million institution with two sets of books and a loss in the range of $28 to $30 million, a larger percentage loss than Jackson Area. Both push toward the same conclusion: identify the problem, fix the problem, and ask the board-level questions — why can one person control both inflow and outflow, and are we getting the audit we should be getting rather than the audit we are required to get? About DCUC Now in its 63rd year, DCUC was created as a council under CUNA to represent credit unions on military bases and has expanded well beyond them. Membership is open to any credit union — teacher, firefighter, oil and gas, and traditional charters are all in the mix. Dues are capped at $22,500 for the largest institutions, and the vast majority of members pay less than $1,000. The annual meeting runs August 3–6 in Aventura, Florida, with regional sub-councils bringing programming closer to members who cannot travel. Reach Jason Stverak: jstverak@dcuc.org Learn more about DCUC: dcuc.org Credit Union Exam Solutions helps credit unions prepare for NCUA examinations, respond to Documents of Resolution, and navigate regulatory challenges. Learn more at creditunionexamsolutions.com.
