ALEXANDRIA, Va.– NCUA Board Member Todd Harper is requesting public comment on his proposal to create a dedicated consumer compliance exam program for large, complex credit unions. Harper touched on the issue during the recent NCUA board meeting, as well.
Separately, NCUA announced it plans to host webinar on a range of consumer protection topics on Nov. 19.
NCUA’s current compliance examinations covering consumer financial protection laws in credit unions with total assets of $10 billion or less differs from other financial institutions regulators, the agency noted, 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.”
Three Positions Sought
Harper said NCUA’s approach to consumer financial protection reviews also runs counter to the congressionally mandated mission of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, which works to develop uniform standards and processes across all financial institution regulators.
Harper said he would like to add three new full-time employees in the NCUA’s Office of Consumer Financial Protection in 2020, who would develop and later launch a dedicated consumer compliance examination program for large, complex credit unions.
“As the largest credit unions continue to grow in size, the time has come for the NCUA to evolve its consumer compliance program,” Harper said. “I invite all interested parties to comment on my proposal during the public deliberations over the NCUA’s proposed 2020–2021 budget.”
How to Comment
NCUA said to comment on the proposal for a dedicated consumer compliance program, email BudgetComments@ncua.gov by Dec. 2.
To request to present at the Nov. 20 budget briefing, email BudgetBriefing@ncua.gov. For more details about commenting on the budget and presenting at the budget briefing, see the NCUA’s press release on the proposed 2020–2021 budget available at the NCUA Budget and Supplementary Materials page.
NCUA to Host Webinar
Separatrely, NCUA said it will host a webinar on a range of consumer protection topics on Nov. 19. Registration for the webinar, “Fair Lending and Consumer Compliance Regulatory Update,” is now open. The webinar is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET and run approximately 90 minutes. Participants will be able to log into the webinar and view it on their computers or mobile devices using the registration link. Participants should also allow pop-ups from this website.
The agency said staff from its Office of Consumer Financial Protection will cover several subjects, including:
- The agency’s new payday alternative loan, or PALs II, rule;
- Findings from reviews of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act loan and application registers;
- Regulation B adverse action notices
- Elder financial abuse
Participants can submit questions over Twitter anytime during the presentation and in advance by emailing WebinarQuestions@ncua.gov. The email’s subject line should read, “Fair Lending and Consumer Compliance Regulator Update.” Please email technical questions about accessing the webinar to audience.support@on24.com.
This webinar will be closed captioned and archived online approximately three weeks following the live event, NCUA said.