WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Labor is expected to finalize its fiduciary rule Wednesday morning, according to several reports.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Labor Secretary Thomas Perez plans to roll out the rule at 11:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.
The rule would add brokers and advisers to the definition of "fiduciary" of an employee benefit plan.
CUNA stated it has concerns that this could potentially negatively affect credit unions that offer investment services through arrangements with third-party brokers if credit unions are swept into “overly burdensome compliance rules.”
CUNA said it expects there will be legal challenges to the rule once it is released, and that the trade association will also provide additional information to credit unions once the final rule is released on how it could impact their operations.
CUNA has sent two separate comment letters to the DOL spelling out its concerns with the proposal, the first during the initial comment period, the second after the comment period was re-opened following a four-day public hearing.
In addition, a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs released a report last week saying the rule threatens to harm low- and middle-class retirement savers by increasing the cost of financial advice.
A subsequent hearing with Perez saw several legislators raise concerns shared by CUNA, the trade association reported.