LAS VEGAS–Credit unions have once again made an Independent Community Bankers of America list of priorities for the coming year.
The association during its ICBA Community Banking LIVE national convention here outlined 11 areas that are its top legislative and regulatory priorities for 2018.
On that list of is:
TAX-EXEMPT CREDIT UNIONS: Urging Congress to end the credit union industry’s unwarranted federal tax subsidy and opposing expanded powers for the industry as long as it remains exempt from taxation and the Community Reinvestment Act.
“ICBA’s pro-growth policy priorities support solutions that will help community banks maximize their support for the local customers and communities they serve,” said ICBA Incoming Chairman Tim Zimmerman, CEO of Standard Bank in Monroeville, Penn. “By reducing excessive regulatory burdens and advancing tailored community banking regulations, Congress and the Trump administration can support stronger economic and job growth nationwide.”
In addition to credit unions, ICBA’s 2018 priorities include:
RELIEF FROM CRUSHING REGULATORY BURDEN: Enacting targeted regulatory relief from ICBA’s Plan for Prosperity platform to recognize the significant differences between community banks and large, complex institutions and to help community banks serve their customers and communities.
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU: Supporting legislation that ensures accountability at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by replacing single-director governance with a five-member commission and promoting greater participation by the prudential banking regulators.
CYBERSECURITY: Ensuring federal cybersecurity policies recognize existing community bank mandates, supporting voluntary information sharing, and expanding prudential regulators’ supervision to include core processors and credit reporting agencies.
DATA SECURITY AND FRAUD: Supporting a national data security breach and notification standard and ensuring all participants in the payments system, including merchants, are subject to Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act-like data-security standards.
PAYMENTS: Supporting payment systems that are bank-centric, ubiquitous, faster, competitive, reliable, secure, and efficient to help community banks meet the global payment needs of their customers.
HOUSING-FINANCE REFORM AND THE GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED ENTERPRISES: Supporting housing-finance reform that preserves market liquidity and stability while ending the destructive sweep of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac earnings.
ENACTING A NEW FARM BILL AND REFORMING THE FARM CREDIT SYSTEM: Calling on Congress to pass a strong farm bill that provides stability to the volatile farm sector and to prevent the Farm Credit System from abusing its tax-advantaged status.
FINTECH BANK CHARTERS: Continue raising concerns with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s proposed special-purpose national bank charter for fintech companies and ensuring that the OCC does not proceed without explicit statutory authority from Congress.
SEPARATION OF BANKING AND COMMERCE: Opposing the FDIC deposit insurance applications of SoFi Bank and Square Financial Services, imposing a two-year moratorium on industrial loan corporation deposit insurance applications, and closing the ILC loophole.
TAX POLICY: Advocating tax laws that promote robust economic activity, a vibrant community banking sector, and saving and investment.