President-elect Donald Trump has tapped former NCUA Chairman Michael Fryzel for his transition effort at the NCUA.
Fryzel’s appointment was one of several Trump made to fill his agency “landing team members.”
Fryzel, who now runs a Chicago-based financial consulting group, served as agency chairman from 2008 to 2009, after being nominated to the board by President George W. Bush in 2007. He was chairman during the corporate credit union crisis.
Fryzel was replaced on the board by current member J. Mark McWatters in 2014. Fryzel is a former director of the Illinois Department of Financial Institutions.
While Fryzel was not available for comment on Monday, he has readily expressed his views on the credit union industry in columns, letters and comments to CU Times.
Fryzel wrote this summer that despite its status as an independent agency, the NCUA likely would comply with a regulatory moratorium if Trump issues one, as he has.
“The intent of Congress when classifying agencies like the NCUA and the CFPB as independent might have been to try and to keep political influence out of their operations,” he said, at the time. “But in the real world that is next to impossible.”
He continued, “The simple fact is that these people are appointed by the president and regardless of party affiliation, owe him or her allegiance and loyalty to put in place the overall plan the president has for the federal government.”
Fryzel has said that he favors the NCUA board examining its rules that were enacted when the credit union industry was impacted by the corporate credit union crisis and the recession. He also said he believes the NCUA should provide direction to the industry through guidance, rather than new regulations.
Fryzel is no fan of the proposal by House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) to expand the NCUA board from three to five members.
Fryzel said if there are perceived changes needed to be made at the board level, they should be made within the existing structure. He said, for instance, that allowing each board member, and not just the chairman, to add items to the monthly meeting agenda could allow the discussion of thornier political issues.
