WASHNGTON—NAFCU is urging the Financial Stability Oversight Council to work with NCUA on rules that have “hamstrung” CUs.
In a letter to Treasury Secretary and Chairman of the FSOC Steven Mnuchin in anticipation of the FSOC's upcoming meeting, NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger pointed to President Trump's recent “Executive Order on Core Principles for Regulating the United States Financial System” on Feb. 3, 2017, which calls for Secretary Mnuchin to consult with other FSOC members and draft a report within 120 days with recommendations to roll-back Dodd-Frank Act regulations. Berger urged Secretary Mnuchin to work closely with NCUA Acting Chairman McWatters and Board Member Metsger as they carefully examine how the existing regulatory framework has hamstrung credit unions.
"Chairman McWatters and Board Member Metsger are well-versed in the statutory and regulatory difficulties that credit unions encounter on a daily basis, and we are confident that your discussions will uncover practical approaches to remedying Dodd-Frank’s regulatory misalignment," Berger said.
In addition, Berger detailed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's significant regulatory burden on credit unions.
"During your first meeting as Chairman of the FSOC, and during subsequent discussion with agency heads on ways to reform Dodd-Frank rules, NAFCU asks that you pay particular attention to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rulemaking impact on credit unions. Not only are credit unions subject to strict field of membership and capital restrictions, they are also subject to the numerous consumer protection provisions in the Federal Credit Union Act, including the usury ceiling, the prohibition on prepayment penalties, and the member business lending cap."
NAFCU attached a 10-point list with particularly burdensome Bureau actions that could harm or threaten credit unions.
Berger also noted that as more FSOC seats are filled by the new administration, Mnuchin has the opportunity for reform through the existing regulatory framework to stay and set aside Bureau rules by a vote of two-thirds of the members of the Council.