WASHINGTON—NAFCU has sent a letter to the Senate Banking Committee stressing the trade association's priorities and addressing several recent efforts to protect renters and homeowners amid the coronavirus pandemic and to prepare the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) for the end of conservatorship.
The committee held a hearing earlier this week to review the state of housing in America.
In the letter, Brad Thaler, NAFCU's vice president of legislative affairs, noted the importance of assistance included in the American Rescue Plan Act, as it "is necessary to help struggling Americans stay in their homes, while ensuring that financial institutions such as credit unions have the liquidity to continue to serve their members."
He outlined additional legislative opportunities to ensure the housing finance market remains strong after the pandemic and reiterated the need for Congress to pass protections, arguing that without them "credit unions' access to the secondary market and ability to lend to more members of their communities, particularly those individuals of low and moderate income, may be in jeopardy."
Additional Points Raised
Thaler also:
- Advocated for provisions that allow credit unions to retain servicing rights to loans they make to their members
- Urged easier access to the Federal Home Loan Bank system for credit unions
- Cautioned against changes that could put new burdens on the industry.
- Said housing finance reform requires the coordination of Congress and federal housing agencies, and he detailed for the committee credit unions' perspective on some recent efforts by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to strengthen the GSEs before they are removed from conservatorship.