NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.—The National Association of CUSOs has released its 2015-16 Legislative & Regulatory Advocacy Plan, which follows on the heels of the Advocacy Fund it created earlier this year.
The Advocacy Fund was established to “supplement its efforts to promote and protect a collaboration/CUSO friendly regulatory climate.”
NACUSO said the Legislative & Regulatory Action plan is based on four basic precepts:
- Encourages credit unions to deliver a better member experience and improve the financial well-being of members
- Encourages credit unions to seek new ways to serve members’ needs
- Rewards investment in innovation and collaboration
- Supports the use of CUSOs as the incubators for collaboration and innovation so that credit unions can reap the benefits of entrepreneurialism without direct risks
NACUSO said the Advocacy Plan also identifies the key associational positions that NACUSO will be focused on, for the benefit of CUSOs and their credit union owners, including:
- Withdrawal of the 2013 CUSO Rule
- Making the reporting and review process as efficient and non-disruptive as possible, if the CUSO Rule is not repealed
- Oppose the granting of direct regulatory authority over CUSOs and other vendors
- Opposing the risk rating of CUSO investments over 100% in RBC2
- Expanding the services CUSOs can offer
- Encouraging regulators to adapt their supervision to accommodate new services and processes to minimize cost and disruption
- Oppose risk based NCUSIF premiums, which are unnecessary and duplicative of risk based capital, and would deplete credit union capital to the detriment of investing in innovative and collaborative CUSOs
“In order to have a maximum impact upon the regulators and the industry, CUSOs and their credit union owners must stand united as we promote the unique collaborative opportunities and risk sharing benefits that our CUSOs provide,” NACUSO said. “Together, our participation in collaboration advocacy efforts through NACUSO will be our most effective way of impacting the future regulatory environment under which CUSOs operate, from the impact of the CUSO Rule to the risk based capital requirement for CUSOs.”
NACUSO President Jack Antonini said that all of the organizations associated with the NACUSO board have already made contributions to the NACUSO Advocacy Fund.