DON'T FENCE ME IN
In the crowded world of Washington lobbyists, the National Council of Savings Institutions is a relative newcomer. But, it has already made its presence felt by taking a strong stand against re-regulation of the US thrift industry and by its keen interest in international developments.
The National Council's priorities reflect those of its members, which tend to include the largest and healthiest thrift in American. Its memebership represents less than 20% of all savings institutions, but they account for about 40% of the industry's total assets. More than 90% of them were profitable last year and saw their net worth increase.
According to the Council's present, John Rousselot, a former California Congressman, its members are also generally "less status quo-oriented, more innovative and more services-oriented than, for example, (most members of) the US League of Savings Institutions," although the Council and the League sometimes work together.
"What distinguishes our membership, from the run-of-the-mill membership," added James Eberle, a Council vice president, "is the fact that we want to diversify, and we want to diversify because we clearly demonstrated in the early 1980s that we can't make it just making home loans.