WASHINGTON—In advance of today’s Senate Banking Committee mark-up on the “Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015,” NAFCU and CUNA Wednesday each sent letters to the committee expressing support for the legislation.
In letters to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the trade associations said they see the legislation as a solid step toward CU regulatory relief. The trade groups also outlined key areas of the bill they feel are critical to reducing the regulatory burden on credit unions.
The draft bill was released last week and the package includes several NAFCU- and CUNA-backed provisions for credit union relief and “transparency” at NCUA.
"The impact of this growing regulatory burden on credit unions is evident in the declining number of credit unions, dropping by 23% (more than 1,800 institutions since 2007)," wrote NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger. "A main reason for the decline is the increasing cost and complexity of complying with the ever-increasing onslaught of regulations. Since the second quarter of 2010, we have lost 1,200 federally-insured credit unions, 96% of which were smaller institutions below $100 million in assets."
Berger also wrote about NAFCU’s support for the parts of the discussion draft that would provide credit unions statutory relief from annual privacy notice requirements and safe harbor qualified-mortgage (QM) status for eligible loans held in portfolio, among other things.
CUNA President and CEO Jim Nussle reminded the committee that earlier this year, CUNA had the opportunity to testify at a hearing on regulatory burden facing small depository institutions.
“Our witness, Wally Murray, the president and chief executive officer of Greater Nevada Credit Union, encouraged the Committee to consider a number of statutory changes aimed at removing barriers so that credit unions can more fully serve their members,” wrote Nussle. “We appreciate that many of these proposals have been incorporated into your draft legislation.”
Nussle called the draft a good step toward regulatory relief for credit unions and other community based financial institutions.
“There is no question that if these provisions were enacted, credit unions would realize a meaningful reduction in their regulatory burden, creating a positive and noticeable impact to our members,” Nussle wrote.