WASHINGTON—By Friday more than 266 legislators had signed a letter calling for the CFPB to use its authority to protect credit unions.
Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Steve Stivers (R-OH) 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.”
Ryan Donovan, CUNA chief advocacy officer, credited state credit union leagues for their leadership and support in developing the letter.
“It is another great example of the importance of the CUNA-League system to credit unions' advocacy efforts,” Donovan said.
NAFCU last month applauded the letter.
“We appreciate Representatives Schiff’s and Stivers’ leadership in championing this matter and thank Representatives Aguilar and Royce for their important support for alleviating credit unions’ overwhelming regulatory burden,” said NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger.