WASHINGTON–The House Financial Services Committee has passed five pieces of legislation that have the backing of credit unions, all of which are designed to reduce regulatory burden.
Among the bills passed:
- H.R. 3192, the “Homebuyers Assistance Act,” which would provide a temporary safe harbor from the Truth in Lending Act/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act integrated disclosure rule.
- H.R. 1941, the “Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act,” aimed at improving the examination of depository institutions.
- H.R. 1210, the “Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act,” to provide a safe harbor from certain qualified mortgage requirements for residential mortgage loans held on a mortgage originator’s portfolio.
- H.R. 766, the “Financial Institution Customer Protection Act,” which would require federal regulators to provide a material reason for ordering financial institutions to terminate account relationships rather than use the Justice Department’s Operation Choke Point initiative.
"We appreciate the committee’s dedication to furthering credit union regulatory relief and for advancing these important measures,” said NAFCU VP-Regulatory Affairs Brad Thaler. “We were pleased to see that a number of these bills received strong bipartisan support. We urge lawmakers to continue to support these and other bills that will help credit unions and their members.”
Also passed was the “Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act,” which targets regulations scored by the Office of Management and Budget as having a large economic impact, and also allows greater congressional scrutiny of other regulations.
In a comment letter prior to the vote, NAFCU said it believes putting this legislative process into place could help ensure additional accountability from the Administration and Congress regardless of which political party is in the majority.
In a statement, CUNA’s Chief Regulatory Officer Ryan Donovan said, “We appreciate the Committee approving these important regulatory relief measures. Each of the four addresses a present concern for credit unions: ensuring that credit unions are not unduly pressured to close certain member accounts, providing accommodation in the qualified mortgage rule by treating mortgages held in portfolio, bringing fairness to the examination process by providing an independent appeals process, and giving credit unions the time they need to transition to new mortgage lending disclosure and regulations. Each is critically important and we look forward to working with Congress to continue to move these through the process and into law.”