In response to the OP-ED article New data shows policymakers should focus on harmful impact of CU acquisitions.

For years, community bank trade groups have tried to paint credit unions as their biggest threat. They’ve accused credit unions of “creeping into their space,” claiming that the industry has somehow grown too large, too competitive, or too commercial. But when community bankers talk to their regulators, they tell a very different story.

According to the Conference of State Bank Supervisors’ (CSBS) Annual Survey of Community Banks, community banks overwhelmingly identify large banks and other community banks, not credit unions, as their primary competitors. The data couldn’t be clearer: when it comes to actual market competition, credit unions don’t even register.

That contradiction says a lot.

Community banks can’t have it both ways. They can’t tell Congress that credit unions are invading their turf, then turn around and tell regulators that credit unions aren’t even on their radar. It’s not just inconsistent, it’s the height of hypocrisy.

But that’s the misleading message bankers Brad Bolton and Ken Hale are again pushing in their latest op-ed. They try to claim that credit unions’ not-for-profit tax status puts banks at a disadvantage. They try to claim that credit unions don’t serve their communities. The data the bankers point to in order to make their case is cherry-picked, and can easily  be disproved.

The truth is that credit unions are not the problem. The real competition comes from the rapid consolidation of the banking industry, where the largest financial institutions now dominate market share. Every year, hundreds of small community banks are absorbed by larger ones, shrinking the landscape of truly local financial institutions.

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Yet instead of focusing on that reality, some trade groups have chosen to attack credit unions, organizations that are member-owned, locally governed, and mission-driven, simply  because they’re growing by doing what they’ve always done best: serving people.

Credit unions don’t compete for profits, they compete for people.

Credit unions serve Main Street families, small businesses, and rural communities that Wall Street ignores and community banks can’t always reach. The not-for-profit structure means that when credit unions succeed, their members succeed. Profits are reinvested  in better rates, lower fees, and stronger local economies. That’s the cooperative model, and it’s one of the few remaining examples of financial services designed around people, not quarterly earnings.

Community banks often talk about their mission to serve local communities. Yet, when their profits start to diminish, they abandon communities. While banks closed more than 20,000 branches between 2012-2024, credit unions opened a net 673 branches in the same time period. And bankers’ argument that large credit unions have lost sight of their mission falls flat: Only 10% of credit unions have over $1 billion in assets, but they operate more than half of the 900 credit union branches in areas that would otherwise be banking deserts.

Credit unions live their people-first mission every single day, without pressure from shareholders or stock analysts. Credit unions’ focus isn’t on market share, it’s on financial well-being. That difference is especially clear in moments of crisis.

Right now, as the federal government shutdown stretches on, hundreds of thousands of federal employees, military members, contractors, and their families are facing real financial stress. For many of them, their local credit union is the first call they make. Across the country, credit unions are stepping up to help members weather the storm—offering paycheck advances, relief loans, extended lines of credit, waived fees, and loan modifications.

That’s in addition to the transformational impact credit unions have on people’s lives every day by providing affordable mortgage and auto loans, helping people pay off thousands of dollars in debt and reduce monthly payments, and so much more.

These are not isolated examples. They’re part of who credit unions are at their core.

Credit unions exist to serve, not to sell. They are financial first responders for millions of Americans, the teachers, postal workers, small business owners, and service members who keep our country running. When times get tough, credit unions don’t retreat from their members. They rally around them.

So, while community bank trade groups spend their energy on political attacks, credit unions are focused on helping their members keep food on the table and lights on at home. Credit unions are focused on creating economic prosperity for millions across the country. That’s the difference between rhetoric and reality.

Policymakers should take note. When community bankers tell their regulators that credit unions aren’t their competition, they’re telling the truth. When their lobbyists tell Congress the opposite, it’s politics, not economics.