WASHINGTON–CUNA has released a white paper that suggests “the priorities of the incoming Trump Administration align with the needs of the credit union system, particularly with respect to regulatory burden, which positions credit unions for success following the 2016 federal elections.”
The white paper, titled “Credit Unions Poised For Success: Analysis of 2016 Federal Elections for Credit Unions,” offers a forecast for both regulatory agencies and Congress, as well as the new administration, in terms of what all could mean for credit unions.
“Here’s what we know we know: When President-elect Trump is inaugurated on January 20, 2017, it will make the first time in ten years that there is unified Republican government, with the White House, House, and Senate all under Republican control,” the paper states. “Further, based on our engagement with the Trump campaign over the last several months, we have confidence that the priorities of the incoming Trump Administration align pretty well with the needs of the credit union system, particularly with respect to regulatory burden. President-elect Trump has indicated strong support for the repeal of the Dodd-Frank Act and the rolling back of overly burdensome regulations. While a complete repeal of Dodd-Frank may prove difficult, particularly given the recent Wells Fargo scandal, we remain hopeful that the new Administration and Congress will remove some of the more oppressive regulations negatively impacting credit unions, and their members. We will support and encourage these efforts as well as legislation to make improvements to the structure of the CFPB.”
CUNA said that for the just-completed election, its PAC, the Credit Union Legislative Action Committee and the state leagues invested nearly $6 million in support of 364 candidates for the House and Senate. In addition, 32 credit unions joined CUNA and six state Leagues also backed partisan communication campaigns on behalf of certain candidates.
CUNA said it expects to have a number of “credit union champions” in Congress, including Sen.-elect Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a current member of the House who has been elected to the Senate.
The white paper also covers some of the issues related to NCUA and the CFPB, as CUToday.info has previously reported here and here.
The Wild Card
The wild card in all of the analysis, acknowledges the CUNA white paper, is President-elect Trump.
“President-elect Donald Trump will take office in January; while his statements on regulatory relief have been welcome, in many ways his main goals and priorities as president are still unknown,” the paper states. “The dearth of political experience contributes to a very significant set of known-unknowns. We don’t know how President-elect Trump will work with the Republican Congress. Trump’s previous working relationship with the Hill and its leaders like Speaker Ryan and Leader McConnell has been limited at best. Frankly, his interaction with many congressional Republicans throughout the primary and general election contests were generally tenuous. However, Vice President-elect Pence, a former member of the House of Representatives, is a much better known quantity on Capitol Hill.”
Much more “certain,” CUNA forecast, is that House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) will continue to advance his regulatory relief agenda through the reintroduction of the Financial CHOICE Act, the package of reforms to Dodd-Frank. On the Senate side, new Banking Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID), may also seek more regulatory relief than the Committee did under Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL), CUNA said.