WASHINGTON—How serious are discussions about consolidating financial services industry regulators as the Trump Administration moves closer to taking office?
As CUToday.info reported, the Trump transition team is reportedly seeking ways to markedly shrink, consolidate or even eliminate the top financial services industry watchdogs in Washington.
“It's hard for us to fully make that determination—(how serious are talks by the Trump transition team) about combining and having a single financial regulator,” said America’s Credit Unions Chief Advocacy Officer Carrie Hunt. “It is certainly an idea that has worked in Europe and in other countries around the world. We can't forget, however, that one of the real challenges and one of the biggest reasons why we have an independent regulator is we have an independent insurance fund.”
Hunt reminded credit unions must maintain a 1% deposit with the NCUSIF.
“That has insulated our insurance fund, really, from having government bailouts over the years,” said Hunt. “Obviously, the financial crisis caused an issue with corporate credit unions and the stabilization fund. But, we still took care of our own issues.”
Hunt acknowledged questions about whether the Trump Administration will consolidate regulators are not easily answered.
“A lot of these discussions and pronouncements certainly may be reflective of areas where we could see change, but it can't be immediate,” Hunt emphasized. “Because no one wants to disrupt the financial markets—and that would be incredibly disruptive.”
Hunt said she believes the Trump Administration has other priorities that will be focused on first.
“Think about how many years of discussions went into reforming Fannie (Mae) and Freddie (Mac),” Hunt said. “From a practical standpoint, it's just almost impossible for this matter to be on parity with so many other things that need the immediate attention of Congress, or are issues that incoming-President Trump has specifically said he wants to tackle.”