The Nebraska Credit Union League (NCUL) and the Mountain West Credit Union Association (MWCUA) announced Tuesday they will join a class action lawsuit against Equifax. CUNA filed its lawsuit Oct. 4, and several other leagues and credit unions have followed suit.

“The Equifax breach has harmed and will continue to harm our credit unions and their members,” said NCUL CEO Scott Sullivan. “We refuse to sit idly by as our credit unions begin to bear the long-term financial cost and personnel burden from Equifax’s breach and are pleased to join with CUNA in taking this action on our members behalf. This is yet another example of the value of the interdependent CUNA/League system.”

Scott Earl, president/CEO of MWCUA also cited the need to protect credit unions when announcing the league is joining a lawsuit.

“We have not seen a data breach of this magnitude before and the potential impacts to credit unions and their members is unprecedented,” Earl said “The Association joined  both to help protect our affiliated credit unions and to hold Equifax accountable for the fallout from this breach. Protecting members is a top priority of all credit unions. We may not know the full impact of this extensive breach for years. The costs to credit unions will be significant.”

The breach, first announced in September is estimated to have exposed information on more than 145 million consumers, and payment card data from of more than 200,000 consumers.

The Illinois Credit Union League and the League of Southeastern Credit Unions and Affiliates have also announced legal action against Equifax.

Since filing its suit, CUNA has engaged with both chambers of Congress with concerns about the breach’s effects. CUNA also hosted a members-only webinar on credit unions’ potential legal options in the wake of the breach.