Credit unions are committed to using artificial intelligence (AI) safely, securely, and to help members meet financial needs. America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Jim Nussle emphasized these points — and highlighted previous credit union testimony on the topic — in a letter to the House Financial Services Committee. America’s Credit Unions has been actively engaged with the Committee on the AI front this year, providing credit union representatives for meetings of the Committee’s bipartisan working group and multiple hearings on the topic.

“AI usage is becoming more common within the credit union industry, and many credit unions have indicated that they are considering investments in AI,” Nussle wrote. “Some credit unions are already partnering with third parties to successfully implement AI-driven tools to facilitate access to credit for members, strengthen existing risk management processes, and improve customer service.”

The committee’s hearing on financial technology featured discussion of the AI Act of 2024 (H.R. 10262), which would require financial regulators to study AI's potential benefits.

Nussle said the legislation “takes an appropriate step to ensure there are clear and balanced rules of the road for innovative technology and its use by credit unions through improved transparency for financial regulatory AI policy.” He noted concern with the requirement regulators file a single, joint report.

“We are concerned that credit union-specific perspectives may be lost in a singular, and potentially bank-centric, report filed by five separate agencies,” he wrote. “We would encourage the Committee to consider reporting approaches that will guarantee the unique challenges faced by credit unions, and other community financial institutions, receive the same level of attention as challenges faced by banks and do not get ‘lost’ in a bigger report.”

America’s Credit Unions Transition Board Secretary Karen Harbin testified before the committee in July on how Commonwealth Credit Union uses AI to increase financial inclusion and Great Lakes Credit Union’s Chief Operating Officer Elizabeth Osborne also testified before the Committee in July on the use of AI at her credit union.

The hearing was the last regularly scheduled hearing of the Committee this Congress and marked the final hearing chaired by retiring Chairman Patrick McHenry, R-N.C. Nussle also recognized and thanked McHenry for his service in the letter, as did many Committee members during their comments at the hearing.

Read the full letter here.