Credit unions that compete with banks — and especially those that buy banks — should pay taxes, American Bankers Association Chair John Asbury told American Banker in an interview published today. Asbury, who is CEO of Atlantic Union Bankshares in Richmond, Virginia, also discussed his policy priorities as ABA chair and what bank regulation might look like under President Trump.
“I think it will be a consequential year,” Asbury told the publication. “We believe in the free market. This is a capitalist society. No one should apologize for that… We believe in a level playing field above all.”
Credit unions have acquired dozens of banks in recent years. When that happens, they remove tax-paying businesses from local markets, Asbury said. “I think there’s a fleecing of taxpayers. That goes way beyond the intent of why we have credit unions.”
As for other priorities, Asbury wants to do away with arbitrary thresholds for determining the level of bank regulation and instead move to a system that’s more tailored to an institution’s level of complexity.
