A new administration brings with it the likelihood of a new NCUA chair, and President Donald Trump moved quickly after his inauguration to name Kyle Hauptman as chair of the National Credit Union Administration. Trump appointed Hauptman to the board in 2020 to serve as vice chair under then-chairman Rodney Hood.
As the lone Republican on today’s board, however, Hauptman’s potential to reshape the agency might be limited. By design, the board must be politically split. Unless Democrats Todd Harper, the agency’s most recent chair, or Tanya Otsuka are removed from the board, President Trump won’t have the opportunity to replace them until Harper’s term ends in August 2027.
With all that in mind, CreditUnions.com reached out to leaders from across the industry prior to Trump’s inauguration to ask what they want from the next iteration of the board. The question was simple: What are your hopes for the next NCUA chair?
Transparency And Communication
Jenee Rawlings, President & CEO, Yolo Federal Credit Union ($412.4M, Woodland, CA)
“My biggest hope for NCUA’s anticipated leadership transition from Harper to Hauptman or anyone else is that the newly appointed chair leads with transparency and effective, two-way communication. The concerns and challenges of a small or midsized credit union are likely different from that of a multi-billion-dollar organization. Credit unions are the most heavily regulated in the financial service industry. As Hauptman has no experience working in credit union operations himself, collaborating with credit union leaders to understand the impact of regulations on credit unions and advocating for credit unions of all sizes is important to successfully move the industry forward.
A Stronger Voice, A Modern Approach
Michael Abernathy, President & CEO, Buckeye State Credit Union ($143.3M, Akron, OH)
“Kyle Hauptman would be a breath of fresh air as the chair of the NCUA. He is a significantly different personality from his two most recent predecessors [Rodney Hood and Todd Harper] in that he is far more outspoken and is not afraid to voice unpopular opinions when necessary. This, to me, is fantastic news for the credit union movement as it is my hope that Mr. Hauptman will be able to provide a stronger voice for credit unions in Washington in the fight for deregulation and against needless legislation that works against our industry … A leader like Mr. Hauptman can lead the charge by ensuring examiners and legislators understand the financial system just went through five years of different shock scenarios. Now would be a good time to allow the financial system to heal, not add more regulation and legislation.”
Christopher Hendry, President & CEO, IC Federal Credit Union ($604.3M, Fitchburg, MA)
“I believe one of the most difficult things a new chairman is going to face is making sure legislators in DC understand the impact they have when they’re trying to regulate the financial industry. You can’t compare Bank of America to a community bank to the majority of the credit unions. We don’t all have the efficiencies of scale and some decisions [legislators] make have an adverse effect on the smaller credit unions. If you took away all of those small, local institutions, everybody would have to work have to work with larger regional or national banks — and I’m not sure that’s in everyone’s best interest. That’s a big challenge to face, and he’s already doing it — helping to educate legislators that sometimes when they think they’re providing a fix, it’s not necessarily a fix for everybody.”
Richard Sellwood, COO, USF Federal Credit Union ($1.1B, Temple Terrace, FL)
“To support the growth and resilience of the credit union industry, Mr. Hauptman’s priorities should include modernizing regulations to balance safety and innovation and reducing compliance burdens that hinder progress. He should emphasize fair, risk-based supervision that offers constructive feedback rather than punitive measures. Open dialogue and collaboration with regulators is essential to ensuring the agency’s policies reflect the needs of credit unions. Additionally, he should maintain the focus on advancing financial inclusion — particularly in underserved communities — and providing clear guidance to navigate economic challenges like interest rate volatility and inflation. Strengthening cybersecurity must also remain a top priority to protect against evolving threats.”
A New Direction
Anonymous, CEO of a small credit union
“There is obviously a risk to speaking openly against the NCUA, especially since Hauptman will be in the minority for at least a while. While I am cautiously optimistic that he has a better grasp and opinion of our industry than Harper does, I have reached out to him personally about vendor issues and received the same weak response I’ve been getting for years. The NCUA publicly claims it is trying to achieve authority for vendor oversight, but its efforts have been weak and sporadic. It publicly declares its admiration of us while constantly telling us we’ve got ‘more work to do’ to be considered adequately diverse and inclusive. I don’t like the direction we’re going. I have been swimming upstream for quite some time, and I’m hoping Hauptman will at least be a weaker current to swim against than Harper. I hope Hauptman starts to pull the knife out of our backs and maybe throws me a life preserver. I guess we’ll see.”
Embracing Innovation
Amanda Habansky, President & CEO, Peoples Advantage FCU ($98.4M, Petersburg, FA)
“I hope the next NCUA chair will continue pursuing regulatory balance while embracing innovation. Credit unions must continue innovating in a market saturated with unregulated fintech players aggressively pursuing our members. These fintechs often don’t have our members’ best interests at the forefront of their business models.”
Jason Lindstrom, President & CEO, Evergreen Credit Union ($564.9M, Portland, ME)
“I look forward to Kyle Hauptman becoming the NCUA board chair. I have found him to be in favor of common-sense regulation for credit unions, and I believe he wants credit unions to take care of our members as we best know how versus trying to regulate via a political agenda. I think he will make innovation and security a priority along with transparency between the NCUA and credit unions. I’m hopeful we will see credit unions thrive under his leadership.”
Less Regulation, More Support For Small Shops
Carolyn Mikesell, President & CEO, Public Service Credit Union ($80.1M, Fort Wayne, IN)
“The biggest thing I’d like to see is less regulation. The biggest challenge for a credit union of our size is maintaining compliance with all of the regulations. Other than that, I can’t change who’s in charge or what they do; we just have to learn how to live within those parameters.”
