WASHINGTON—The number of lawmakers signing a letter calling for the CFPB to use its authority to protect credit unions has now reached 330, according to CUNA.
Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Steve Stivers (R-OH) have led the bipartisan effort in the House to gather signatures for the letter urging CFPB Director Richard Cordray to use the Bureau’s Dodd-Frank Act authority to exempt credit unions from certain rulemakings.
The letter notes that a Government Accountability Office report recently found that financial services have been limited or discontinued by many community-based financial institutions due to new regulations, particularly those governing remittance transfers.
The letter was originally circulated on the same day that CFPB Director Richard Cordray spoke at CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, telling credit unions they should be subject to the Bureau’s rules.
“The GAO recently reviewed the impact of regulation on community lenders and found that credit unions and other small banks have reduced consumer lending products because of an increased compliance burden that may not have been intended for them," the representatives noted in their call for signers. “With major rules already being implemented and new regulations on the horizon, our letter reminds the CFPB that Congress intentionally provided for regulatory flexibility to mitigate collateral damage on smaller financial institutions.”
CUNA stated a final count will likely to come by the end of the week, stressing that the effort has been “fully led by credit unions.” The trade association stated that the creation of the letter, and the widespread support it has garnered, represents a successful deployment of CUNA’s grassroots “360-degree advocacy.”