One branch visit changed a life; Simpson says millions more depend on advocacy
Describing cooperative finance as "one of the most successful social movements in the history of America," America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Scott Simpson made clear that the movement's survival depends on adding the context of humanity to influence what happens in rooms where policy is made.
To emphasize this humanity, Simpson shared personal stories, including one that he heard just a few months ago.
Jay Camerino grew up in Tijuana, Mexico, the eldest of five boys, three of whom would join gangs. His mother was 13 when he was born. By the time his family reached California, Camerino was navigating the kind of odds that can be hard to overcome.
Then he walked into a credit union.
He was a young college aide in the school district, and he needed somewhere to deposit a paycheck. A staff member named Marilyn helped him on that first visit and thereafter on an ongoing basis. She printed his statement each month, answered every question, and—as Camerino recalled—made him feel like he was a member of the family. That sense of belonging became a turning point.
From that branch counter forward, that credit union became the institution Camerino turned to for car loans, a home loan, savings guidance, and the quiet confidence that someone was in his corner. Today, Dr. Jay Camerino is the board of directors’ chair for LBS Financial Credit Union, which recently celebrated 90 years of serving the Long Beach community.
One story, multiplied 145 million times
That arc—hardship met by a compassionate person who chose to help—is exactly what Simpson wanted the more than 6,000 credit union leaders to carry with them when they fanned out across Capitol Hill at the 2026 Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C. Simpson showed a video of Camerino's story on screen during his Monday morning keynote, his first GAC address since taking the helm of the organization.
"Credit unions' greatness is the sum of millions of individual stories," Simpson told the crowd. "You and I have seen them up close. And we've lived them in my family."
Simpson's central argument was that those stories are not just feel-good moments; they are the movement's most powerful advocacy tool. He urged credit union leaders to pair lived experience with the system's scale, 145 million members nationwide, when meeting with policymakers.
"As someone who has spent a career on both sides of policy meetings, I can tell you just one of those stories, coupled with data that brings the scope and scale of this work, resonates a hundred times deeper than any chart," he said.
A social movement under constant threat
Simpson did not shy away from the stakes. He pointed directly at the banking industry's ongoing campaign to weaken or eliminate the credit union tax status, calling out the fundamental dishonesty behind opponents' arguments. "The truth is, every banker argument is based on one fundamental lie, and that lie is that (credit union) growth somehow equals a departure from the foundational philosophy of being a cooperative financial institution. And that is simply not true," Simpson said.
He warned against letting that lie fracture the movement from within. Large credit unions and small credit unions, he argued, share far more in common with each other than any of them share with a for-profit bank. "As a unified movement, all of us must have the discipline and wisdom to see this model is under constant threat. And the discipline and wisdom to stay together," he said.
The policy agenda: removing barriers to member service
Simpson outlined several concrete advocacy priorities for the year, all framed around the idea that outdated rules and new legislative threats stand between credit unions and the people they exist to serve. Advocates meeting with lawmakers during GAC week focused on opposing government-set interchange price controls that would reduce credit unions' ability to invest in member services, modernizing reporting thresholds to reflect economic reality and reduce regulatory burden, expanding credit unions' ability to lend to small businesses who are turned away under current statutory caps, and pressing Congress to take stronger action against fraud and scams that harm consumers.
America's Credit Unions also launched a national advertising campaign during GAC week, urging Congress to reject the Credit Card Competition Act, with digital ads running in the districts of more than 70 lawmakers.
Why they showed up
Simpson closed by reminding the room that the record-breaking turnout was itself a statement. More than 6,000 people traveled to Washington not for a trade conference, but to protect a pathway to economic freedom for the Americans they serve.
"There are 145 million people who are looking to us to stand between them and those who would destroy the pathway to their pursuit of happiness, to their economic freedom," he said. "That's why we're here."
Camerino put it more simply. The credit union's work is rooted in service. No matter someone's background, no matter how they grew up, the mission is the same: believe in the community and show up for every person in it.
That ethos is what Marilyn showed a young man at a branch counter decades ago. It is what Simpson asked 6,000 leaders to carry to Capitol Hill. And it is, at its core, the credit union difference.
