It appears that credit unions could lose a strong advocate on the NCUA board. Mark McWatters, a board member since 2014, has been nominated by Pres. Obama for the Export-Import Bank of the United States board. McWatters would need to be confirmed by the Senate before he would take a seat on the board. He said he will continue to “remain fully engaged on matters coming before the NCUA board during the confirmation process.”
McWatters has often been the dissenting vote on major issues that have come before the NCUA board. The LSCU & Affiliates have had many face-to-face meetings with McWatters since he came on to the board. Last year member credit unions met three times with McWatters, including at the CUNA GAC and the Southeast Credit Union Conference & Expo.
He has 30 years of legal experience. Before joining the NCUA board, he served as the director of graduate programs and as an adjunct professor at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law from 2011 to 2014. He was also an adjunct professor at SMU’s Cox School of Business from 2009 to 2014. He served on the governing board of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs and the Advisory Committee of the Texas Emerging Technology Fund. From December 2009 to April 2011, McWatters was a member of the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel.