WASHINGTON—With the nation’s largest banks only growing larger, and rules created in the wake of the financial crisis only leading to the demise of many smaller institutions, CUNA told the House Financial Services Committee the one-size-fits-all approach taken by both Congress and regulators has had negative results.
In advance of a House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing titled “Holding Megabanks Accountable: A Review of Global Systemically Important Banks 10 Years After the Financial Crisis,” at which the CEOs of seven large banks testified, CUNA said in its letter, “Although the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act sought to reign in financial institutions that were deemed ‘too big to fail,’ the high costs associated with regulatory compliance, as well as the various other unintended consequences of the legislation, have created a competitive advantage for those very institutions.”
The letter said that the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155) passed by the previous Congress has alleviated some of those burdens, but that additional legislation that may be forthcoming should not be one-size-fits-all and recognizes the regulatory challenges and financial burden faced by smaller, less complex financial institutions.
Benefits CUs Have Provided
CUNA told Congress credit unions delivered nearly $12 billion in direct financial benefits to their 115 million credit unions members, equivalent to $103 per member, as well as the more than $99 million in low or no-interest loans provided to more than 79,000 credit union members affected by the government shutdown.