ARLINGTON, Va.–NCUA’s new Letter to Credit Unions in which it updated its 2020 supervisory priorities and a shift in emphasis to a review of actions taken in response to the pandemic to assist borrowers, doesn’t include any big surprises, according to NAFCU, and the trade group said its focus will be on ensuring the agency doesn’t bend too far in one direction.
“NCUA has always been a safety and soundness regulator, but they are also a functional regulator, and they can stray too far,” NAFCU EVP and General Counsel Carrie Hunt told CUToday.info. “Clearly, the whole country is under stress.”
Hunt said ensuring that balance in examinations will be a “process” as everyone works their way through the economic toll taken by the coronavirus.
No Complaints
To date, Hunt said NAFCU has not been fielding complaints from its members that there has been any sort of disconnect between what the agency is saying at the top and what examiners have been doing during its new virtual exams. NCUA has repeatedly in recent months indicated concerns around liquidity and capital, and Hunt said NAFCU continues to push the agency for relief and direction on troubled debt restructurings (TDRs) and from a risk perspective.
“Overall, credit unions entered this crisis in good condition, and that’s been helpful during the downturn,” she said.