WASHINGTON—CUNA has sent separate letters to the CFPB and FinCEN.
In its letter to the CFPB, CUNA said it is critical for federal regulators, including the Bureau, to appreciate the significant differences in the appropriate role of regulations and of guidance.
The letter was sent to the CFPB in response to a proposal to codify a joint interagency statement on the role of guidance, and follows a similar communication the trade association sent to NCUA last month.
“We appreciate the role of supervisory guidance and support the proposal to codify the 2018 Statement,” the letter reads. “Doing so not only ensures credit unions understand where an examiner is basing its decisions, but also ensures the basis for such decisions is well-founded, given statutes must go through the legislative process and regulations through the rulemaking process under the Administrative Procedure Act.”
The letter also highlights CUNA’s belief that it is important that the CFPB to refrain from using supervisory guidance as a basis for an adverse finding during the examination process.
Discussion Urged
“Examiners must clearly identify where a requirement or prohibition is expressed in an established law or regulation,” it reads. “With that said, we urge the CFPB to continue examiner engagement in productive discussions with the staff of credit unions subject to its jurisdiction regarding relevant supervisory guidance. Such discussions are particularly helpful when there is confusion regarding a specific regulation and its application to the issue at hand.”
Letter to FinCEN
Separately, CUNA said the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) proposal on convertible virtual currency transactions does not provide sufficient justification or a proper notice-and-comment period. The letter was sent in response to FinCEN’s proposal seeking to address certain AML threats posed by certain convertible virtual currency (CVC) and legal tender status digital asset (LTDA) transactions.
CUNA said it has noted in previous communications that FinCEN must strike the right balance between the imposition of costs on community credit unions and the benefit to law enforcement. In this instance, it is not clear that regulated entities have access to all the third-party information that is required to comply with this rule, CUNA said.
The full CUNA letter can be found here.