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(From NCUA Express) – President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. has designated National Credit Union Administration Board Member Todd M. Harper as the twelfth Chairman of the NCUA Board.
Harper succeeds Rodney Hood, who was designated Board Chairman in April 2019. Hood continues to serve as an NCUA Board Member.
“I have received the greatest honor of my career. I am deeply humbled by the trust and faith placed in me by the new Administration,” Harper said. “In leading the outstanding professionals at the NCUA, I will seek to do what is best for the agency, its staff, and the credit union system.”
“Moreover, I will prioritize open engagement and seek win-win compromises, whenever practicable. Negotiating in good faith — with an open mind and open communications — is how I will lead the NCUA,” Harper added.
Harper was nominated to the NCUA Board on Feb. 6, 2019. Following Senate confirmation, he took office as an NCUA Board Member on April 8, 2019.
Prior to joining the NCUA Board, Mr. Harper served as Director of the agency’s Office of Public and Congressional Affairs and Chief Policy Advisor to former Chairman Debbie Matz and Rick Metsger. He is the first member of the NCUA staff to become an NCUA Board Member and Chairman.
Mr. Harper previously worked for the U.S. House of Representatives as Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises and as Legislative Director and Senior Legislative Assistant to former Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pennsylvania). In these roles, he contributed to every major financial services law from the enactment of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act in 1999 through the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010.
During the Great Recession, Mr. Harper coordinated the first congressional hearing to explore the creation of a Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund. He also spearheaded staff efforts in the U.S. House to secure enactment of a law to lower the costs of managing both the Corporate Stabilization Fund and the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund.
“The credit union system now sits at the intersection of several crossroads, and the agency faces many decisions ahead related to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to advance economic equality and justice,” Harper said. “As NCUA Board Chairman, I will continue to focus on four policy priorities: capital and liquidity, consumer financial protection, cybersecurity, and diversity, equity and economic inclusion. Each of these priorities are vital in responding to current economic and marketplace realities.”
In congressional testimony and public appearances, Harper has regularly outlined his regulatory philosophy, which holds that the NCUA needs to be fair and forward-looking; innovative, inclusive and independent; risk-focused and ready to act expeditiously when necessary; and engaged appropriately with all stakeholders to develop effective and efficient regulation.
Mr. Harper earned an undergraduate degree in business analysis from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and a graduate degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.