WASHINGTON–CUNA has sent a letter to the House Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations related to its hearing on “The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection’s Unconstitutional Design.”
The letter details on how the structure of the Bureau has negatively impacted credit unions.
“One-size-fits-all regulation has not worked for Main Street – local credit unions, small banks, and the consumers and small businesses they serve,” said CUNA CEO Jim Nussle in the letter. “It’s created a rigged system favoring the largest institutions who can afford to comply with the "solutions" dreamt up in Washington – the very institutions that caused the crisis that hurt so many. This system is hurting consumers, costing them time and money, and limiting their choices. Now is the time for Congress to enact regulatory reform that works for consumers, not Wall Street.”
In the letter, CUNA said that during 2014, the total financial impact of regulations and lost revenue on credit unions was $7.2 billion, “which has harmed their members by eliminating safe and affordable options in the market.”
“Since the beginning of the crisis, credit unions have been subject to more than 200 regulatory changes from more than a dozen federal agencies,” the letter states. “These new rules total nearly 8,000 Federal Register pages, and counting. The constant stream of new regulations from the CFPB over the past several years has led to credit union staff time and other resources being taken away from serving members, and it has created many regulatory burdens for credit unions forcing the elimination of products. This has led to rising costs and fewer choices for credit union members, an unfortunate result since these regulatory changes were intended to address bad behavior credit unions never engaged in.”
The letter goes on to say it is “troubling that the CFPB is attempting to engage in policymaking that conflicts directly with feedback from the prudential regulator, who examines credit unions for safety and soundness.”
Nussle goes on to outline structural reforms CUNA would like to see, including changing from a single director to a multi-member commission.