WASHINGTON–CUNA has sent a comment letter to the Department of Labor urging it to delay the applicability of the Fiduciary rule for at least 180 days.
The letter argues that additional efforts and research are needed to ensure that credit union members are not harmed by unintended consequences of overly broad rules, as well as additional analysis about whether choices may be limited for consumers.
CUNA noted it previously expressed support for the goal of the Fiduciary rule, which is to protect investors and encourage all advisors to act in the investor’s best interest. But the complexity of the rule and the uncertainty about compliance deadlines and applicability demands the delay, CUNA said.
Although it has been reported that the DoL sent a request to the Office of Management and Budget for a 180-day delay, CUNA said the proposed rule only seeks a 60-day delay.
The DoL has made some changes that had been requested earlier, including explanations about what is financial education versus advice.
“We believe these clarifications make clear that credit unions can continue to have broad conversations with their members about financial education, and have the ability to provide general information about opportunities to invest and save,” CUNA said in its letter. However, the letter outlines three situations in which credit unions could still be impacted by this rule.
A copy of the CUNA letter can be found in CUToday.info’s The Gov here.