WASHINGTON—The American Bankers Association is urging NCUA to more closely align with federal banking regulators as it considers rolling back certain advertising disclosure requirements for credit unions.
In a Feb. 27 comment letter on NCUA’s proposed changes to its advertising and insured-status rules under Part 740, ABA said it supports efforts to streamline regulations but questioned the agency’s direction amid the rapid growth of financial services providers offering deposit-like products.
The proposal would eliminate the requirement that credit unions include an official advertising statement in ads, while keeping requirements to display the official sign at locations where deposits are typically received.
ABA pointed to recent updates by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to its own signage framework, arguing that consistent, technology-neutral insured-status standards are increasingly important across digital and traditional channels.
Following its 2023 final rule, the FDIC refined and delayed certain digital signage requirements to focus on the pages and screens most relevant to consumers, steps ABA said preserved deposit-insurance messaging while easing implementation burdens.
If the NCUA proceeds with removing the official advertising statement requirement, ABA recommended several guardrails to prevent consumer confusion. Those include publishing supervisory guidance under § 740.2 with examples addressing mixed-product advertising; coordinating with the FDIC on insured-status communication principles, including digital signage; offering optional best-practice models for voluntary insured-status cues; and pairing any final rule with consumer-education materials.
The association said it supports modernization that reduces prescriptive mandates while maintaining robust signage expectations and clear prohibitions against misrepresentation. By anchoring changes to the FDIC’s updated framework and coordinating across agencies, ABA argued, NCUA can provide regulatory relief without undermining consumer understanding or creating uneven standards across charters