ARLINGTON, Va.—NAFCU is asking the Treasury to look closely at how mounting regulatory burden and the emergence of online lenders are impacting credit unions’ ability to lend to their members.
In a letter from NAFCU Regulatory Affairs Counsel Kavitha Subramanian, in response to the Treasury’s request for information regarding online marketplace lending, the trade association emphasized that NAFCU and its member credit unions are committed to “ensuring that consumers and small businesses have access to safe and affordable credit.”
Subramanian then wrote that the post-Dodd-Frank environment threatens to “stifle this access as the overwhelming regulatory burden has strained credit unions’ ability to lend and innovate. Accordingly, NAFCU urges Treasury to closely study the impact that regulatory burdens placed on credit unions since the financial crisis have had on the availability of credit and the growth of online market lenders."
Subramanian goes on to say that "without requiring these unchecked online lenders to follow basic consumer protection regulations, well-regulated credit unions will increasingly be unable to serve the everyday credit needs of American consumers at competitive rates. NAFCU applauds Treasury’s willingness to study this growing online marketplace to ensure that consumers are not being taken advantage of and that traditional financial institutions such as credit unions are able to provide competitive services."