WASHINGTON–NCUA should raise the assets threshold for its extended exam cycle to $3 billion, CUNA said in a comment letter. Doing so would bring parity to credit unions with banks, which recently saw an increase in the assets threshold to that level as part of the recently enacted regulatory relief bill, S. 2155. Currently, credit unions must fall below $1 billion in assets to be eligible for less frequent examinations.
In a letter to NCUA Chairman J. Mark McWatters, CUNA CEO Jim Nussle said, “This regulatory disparity now serves as a comparative advantage for community banks. Congress has already delegated authority to NCUA to set the frequency of examinations for credit unions. “Given that Congress has now codified an extended exam cycle for community banking institutions—the type of insured bank depository institution most closely aligned with the credit union industry—NCUA would be well within its legal purview to exercise similar discretion for small credit unions.”
Nussle added that credit unions remain concerned NCUA has not taken steps to address the increased commercial appraisal thresholds the banking agencies adopted in April of this year.
“These competitive advantages given to banks translate into tangible costs for credit unions…,” Nussle wrote. “Credit unions deserve the privilege of providing customer service subject to comparable regulatory supervisory thresholds as applied to banking organizations.”
CUNA added it strongly supports NCUA’s efforts and advancement toward exam modernization, including long-term goals of continuous supervision and remote examinations.