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Matz Shares Lessons Learned from Community Development Credit Unions

NCUA Board Member Keynotes National Federation of CDCUs’ Annual Meeting

June 9, 2005, San Francisco, Calif. – In the opening keynote speech at the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions’ 31st Annual Meeting, NCUA Board Member Debbie Matz shared valuable lessons she has learned from CDCUs and her resulting initiatives to help small credit unions thrive.

“When I came to NCUA, I decided to get out of the office, travel the country and see first-hand what credit unions are really all about,” Matz began. “The more I met with leaders of community development credit unions, the more valuable lessons I learned:”

• “I learned the true meaning of ‘People Helping People.’ It means treating each member, regardless of their income or their credit history, with respect and compassion. It means listening to each member’s hopes and aspirations, and doing everything in your power to help them achieve their dreams. It means turning ‘Heck no, not with your credit history,’ into ‘Yes, let’s work together and make it happen.’”

• “I learned that ‘low income’ does not automatically mean ‘high credit risk.’ People with low incomes can actually be better credit risks than people with high incomes – because they will do everything they can to pay off their loans and build good credit.”

• “I learned that community development credit unions are shining examples of how all credit unions can and should be serving people of modest means. And I concluded that all credit unions owe CDCUs a debt of gratitude – because by fulfilling credit unions’ statutory mission, CDCUs help to preserve all credit unions’ tax exemption.”

“I feel confident that CDCUs represent not only the past, but the future of credit unions,” Matz concluded. “You have made a lasting difference in the lives of your members, their children and future generations to come. You are living proof that credit unions continue to fulfill their statutory mission to serve people of modest means. If all credit unions stay true to the mission that you live by each and every day, the future of credit unions will be as robust and rewarding as your past.”

Full text of Board Member Matz’s speech is posted at http://www.ncua.gov/news/speeches/speeches_matz.html

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A public service veteran of 25 years, Matz was named as a recess appointee to the NCUA Board in January 2002 and nominated to a seat on the Board on February 27, 2002. The U.S. Senate confirmed her on March 22, 2002. As part of the NCUA Board, Matz oversees the regulation of federal credit unions and the administration of the federal insurance fund covering approximately 9,000 credit unions in the U.S.

Matz is a member of three credit unions and resides in McLean, Va. with her husband and two children. Before her appointment to the NCUA Board, Matz was appointed by President Clinton as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration in the Department of Agriculture.