ALEXANDRIA, Va.–When the NCUA board meets today it will have two items on the agenda, after pulling one item that had originally been listed for discussion: its 2022-26 strategic plan.
Remaining on the agenda are the agency's proposed rule on the complex credit union ratio and a request for information and comment on digital assets and related technologies.
As CUToday.info previously reported, in January the board put out for comment a proposal to raise the definition of a “complex” credit union to $500 million in assets from $50 million for purposes of being required to determine risk-based net worth.
The advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) included a comment period that ran through May and which suggested two approaches to simplifying the definition: replacing the risk-based capital rule with a risk-based leverage ratio (RBLR) requirement, which uses relevant risk attribute thresholds to determine which complex credit unions would be required to hold additional capital (buffers); or retain the 2015 risk-based capital rule but enable eligible complex federally insured credit unions to opt-in to a CCULR framework to meet all regulatory capital requirements.
But there has been one significant and related change at the agency since the matter was put out for comment: a change in the chairmanship.
The Dissenting Vote
Then Board Member Todd Harper cast the dissenting vote against the proposal to change to Part 702 of NCUA’s regulations. Noting that the rule would expire on Dec. 31 as the result of another NCUA rule, Harper called the proposal a “hocus-pocus sleight of hand worthy of Harry Houdini.”
In January, NCUA said the change would provide relief to 1,700 credit unions between $50 million and $500 million in assets, and 284 credit unions would no longer be subject to having to determine their risk-based net worth ratio.
The meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET. CUToday.info will have full coverage.