ARLINGTON, Va.–While it has yet to file its official comment letter, NAFCU said it does not support the expansion of a dedicated consumer compliance exam program for large credit unions, as NCUA Board Member Todd Harper has proposed.
As CUToday.info reported here, Harper said the agency’s current compliance examinations covering consumer financial protection laws in credit unions with total assets of $10 billion or less differs from other financial institution regulators in that other regulators complete regularly scheduled, risk-focused consumer compliance reviews and assign a separate consumer compliance rating outside of the CAMEL process for institutions under their jurisdiction.
“For more than three decades, the NCUA has focused its examination program primarily on safety and soundness reviews,” Harper said. “This policy worked well when the NCUA oversaw a large number of small credit unions serving a limited field of membership with only a few basic financial products. But today’s credit unions are larger and more complex, with 317 credit unions exceeding $1 billion in assets having 71.7 million members.”
NCUA Should Respect Congress
Harper is now calling for public comment on the proposal.
NAFCU EVP and General Counsel Carrie Hunt said the association will be providing a more detailed response in a comment letter, but told CUToday.info NAFCU does not believe the expanded examinations or support personnel “are necessary.”
“There is nothing magical about the $1 billion in assets” threshold, said Hunt. “Credit unions have a great track record of serving their members.”
Hunt said Congress drew the line at $10 billion and more in assets in terms of compliance with CFPB rules around consumer financial protection and that “NCUA should respect Congress.”
What credit unions don’t need, said Hunt, are additional regulations and that the agency needs to remain focused on a “regulatory regime for credit unions” that is right-sized and that promotes growth.