Oregon Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Bank-Backed Bill

Posted by Pam Leavitt on April 28, 2025

Today, the Oregon Senate Finance and Revenue Committee held a hearing on SB781on SB781, which would require credit unions to pay state taxes on loans and services provided to businesses when a bank chooses to sell assets to a local not-for-profit financial cooperative. Credit union advocates joined GoWest in making a strong case against the bill, and shared strong evidence of credit unions’ economic and community impact. The committee has taken no action on it at this time.

Those testifying included:

• Rob Stuart, President/CEO, OnPoint Community Credit Union
• Stacie Wyss-Schoenborn, President & CEO, Central Willamette Credit Union
• Ezra Eckhart, President & CEO, Spokane Teachers Credit Union
• Rachel Pross, Chief Operations Officer, Maps Credit Union

Pam Leavitt and Hal Scoggins testified as members of the GoWest team.

Testimony quotes:

GoWest Credit Union Association talked about the difference between banks and credit unions and outlined challenges with the bankers’ arguments — “Banks allege that credit unions hold a disproportionate and unfair advantage over banks in these sales transactions.    They claim that CUs tend to offer significantly higher offers to bank sellers, essentially locking other banks out of the bidding process.  However, banks completely dominate the sales activity, accounting for 96.2% of all sales over the past ten years with only 1% of transactions working with local credit unions. Very few banks sell to credit unions. From 2012-Jan. 2025 , a total of 2,499 banks have sold to other banks in the United States.  During the same period, a total of 100 banks have chosen to sell their assets to a credit union, representing 0.6% of the total assets.”

Rob Stuart, President/CEO, OnPoint Community Credit Union—“While many bank branches are closing, OnPoint has doubled its footprint since 2021, now operating 57 branches. We believe in strong banking options, but SB781 will not restore state-chartered community banks or alleviate competition from large out-of-state banks. SB781 will only limit services and reduce the benefits enjoyed by Oregon’s 2.3 million credit union members.”

Stacie Wyss-Schoenborn, President and CEO, Central Willamette Credit Union—“Central Willamette is grateful to this Legislature, in making Oregon a leader in financial accessibility, especially at a time when consumers need basic financial services to help keep food on the table, put children through school, gas in the car, and pay for rising housing costs. The cooperative movement embodies the “people helping people” philosophy. Consumers have options in financial services and credit unions are a big part of helping to secure the financial futures of the 2.3 million Oregonians they serve. This bill would directly erode our mission and values as not-for-profit financial cooperatives and our ability to serve members and communities statewide. Further, credit unions aren’t able to raise outside capital. So, when you tax credit unions, you’re taking capital directly out of the credit union ecosystem. That reduces our ability to lend, which in turn, limits financial options for our member-owners and our communities.”

Ezra Eckhardt, President and CEO, Spokane Teachers Credit Union—“I strongly oppose Senate Bill 781…This is a completely short-sighted and backwards oriented action. It will have no substantial impact on the revenue generation for the State of Oregon in the long run. It will likely prohibit and credit union from completing a bank purchase. Under-performing banks will struggle along. They will not find buyers. They will not invest in communities. They will not deploy new products and services. They will not invest in new systems and digital access. Any credit union considering the purchase of a bank will likely shift to a federal charter (like Utah and other states) to avoid this, and other taxes. This will also result in a negative impact on the State of Oregon’s ability to regulate and oversee in state credit unions.”

Rachel Pross, Chief Operations Officer, Maps Credit Union—“Maps recently entered into an agreement to acquire Lewis & Clark Bank, another Oregon-chartered financial institution. Contrary to the messaging behind SB781, this acquisition is good for Oregon and good for Oregon consumers and small businesses. It keeps local business right where it belongs— here in Oregon. SB781 will significantly increase the likelihood that Oregon-based banks who are pursuing an exit strategy will merge with larger out-of-state banks, and we all know what happens when this occurs. Overlapping employees are discarded, branches are closed or consolidated, and Oregon consumers and small businesses lose. In the case of Lewis & Clark Bank, their decision to partner with Maps Credit Union reflects Lewis & Clark’s commitment to preserving local relationships, expanding access to financial services, and maintaining an Oregon-based mission. Why would we want to discourage this by introducing a bill like SB781? This bill effectively removes a viable pathway for community banks to sustain their legacy and meet the needs of their customers and communities. That outcome is not just shortsighted— it’s truly perplexing.”

Many Oregon credit unions engaged in the advocacy call to action, preparing additional verbal and written testimony. In addition to thanking the credit union advocates who testified, we thank the following credit unions:

• Mid Oregon Credit Union
• First Tech Federal Credit Union
• OnPoint Community Credit Union
• Wauna Credit Union
• Rivermark Community Credit Union
• Unitus Community Credit Union
• Central Willamette Credit Union
• OCCU
• Rogue Credit Union
• Spokane Teachers Credit Union
• Maps Credit Union
• Trailhead Credit Union
• InRoads Credit Union

The May Revenue Forecast guiding the remaining days of the Oregon Legislative session is expected to continue through the end of June, so GoWest will continue to monitor any efforts by the bankers to push the bill forward.

Posted in Advocacy on the Move, Oregon Advocacy.