President Donald Trump officially named J. Mark McWatters as chairman of the National Credit Union Administration Board, effective June 23. The decision makes McWatters the tenth chairman of the association.
Up until this point, McWatters served as the acting NCUA Board Chairman. Former President Barack Obama originally nominated McWatters, officially taking office as an NCUA board member on Aug. 26, 2014. McWatters has served as acting board chairman since Jan. 23.
“I thank President Trump for this honor and the trust he has placed in me,” McWatters said. “As chairman of the NCUA, I remain committed to providing regulatory relief for the credit union community, in compliance with the Federal Credit Union Act, and to streamlining the operations of NCUA as a prudential regulator.”
“We best fulfill our obligation to protect America’s $1.3 trillion credit union community and its 108 million, largely middle-class, members, and the safety and soundness of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund by promoting a strong and vibrant system and by making the NCUA even more efficient, effective, transparent and fully accountable,” he said.
Before coming to NCUA, McWatters served as assistant dean for graduate programs and as a professor of practice at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and as adjunct professor at the university’s Cox School of Business.
He also served on the Governing Board of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs and on the Advisory Committee of the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.
The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions President and CEO Dan Berger welcomed McWatters’ nomination, saying, "NAFCU congratulates Chairman McWatters on this appointment. As always, we look forward to working with the chairman and the agency's board in seeking to ensure a positive regulatory environment where credit unions can thrive.”
