WASHINGTON–Regulatory developments on the international level are increasingly shaping regulations in the United States, according to one panel discussion here.
During CUNA’s GAC a session on the globalization of CU regulation suggested credit unions would be wise to pay attention to what is happening in other parts of the world.
The panel discussion included World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) Vice President of Advocacy Andrew Price, WOCCU Board Chair Steven Stapp, and the president of Poland’s CU trade group and WOCCU Vice Chair/Secretary Rafal Matusiak. The discussion was moderated by CUNA Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donovan.
Among the international regulatory issues touched on during the session:
- Privacy regulations
- Digitization
- Financial inclusion
- Capital standards
“Nearly every new regulatory standard being imposed on credit unions—regardless of which country they’re located in—can be traced back to international standard setting bodies such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Financial Action Task Force and Financial Stability Board,” said Price. “A great example is the National Credit Union Association’s risk-based capital rule—that is in part designed to implement a risk-based capital component in line with the Basel framework. WOCCU advocated to make sure the concept of proportionality was built into the international standard in order to allow tailoring appropriate for credit unions.”
Continuous Work
Price said he and the WOCCU Advocacy team work continuously to ensure international regulators stress the need for national, regional and state regulators to apply such regulations in a proportional manner for credit unions and other less-complex financial cooperatives.
Stapp, who is president/CEO of Unitus Community Credit Union in Oregon, and Matusiak, president of Poland’s National Association of Cooperative Savings and Credit Unions, agreed the compliance issues their organizations face are heavily influenced by international standards, despite being governed by different regulatory bodies in different countries.