WASHINGTON—The CEO of one credit union did her best to get Congress to understand just how heavy the regulatory burden has become.
Robin Simmers, CEO and manager at Pahranagat Valley FCU in Alamo, Nev., testified Friday before the Committee On Small Business Subcommittee On Investigations, Oversight, And Regulations on behalf of the Nevada Credit Union League and CUNA.
Telling the story of how her own CU has battled the growing regulatory burden, Simmers addressed how credit unions nationally are facing a crisis of creeping complexity with respect to regulatory burdens.
“Since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008, credit unions have been subject to more than 202 regulatory changes from nearly two-dozen federal agencies totaling more than 6,000 pagesin theFederal Register. Every time a rule is changed credit unions and their members incur costs,” said Simmers in her oral testimony.
Simmers explained that even simple changes in regulation cost credit unions thousands of dollars and many hours of time and resources that could be spent on serving the needs of credit union members.
“If there is one takeaway for the committee members today, it is that Washington, primarily our regulators, and to some extent Congress, has challenges understanding how laws, rules, and regulations apply to small credit unions,” said Simmers. “I am one of six employees wearing multiple hats. Overall, rules and regulations are written and prescribed with the largest players in mind. Imagine the ease for a trillion dollar bank to add a new compliance manager. At my credit union, I am the compliance manager. Because of our size and scope we do not have the ability to simply add another professional to our staff.”
Simmers also provided written testimony that outlines a number of recommendations on how to improve the credit union charter and address the regulatory operating environment that impacts credit unions their members.
Simmers’ testimony can be found in CUToday.info’s The Gov.