ARLINGTON, Va.–The National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS) has published a detailed analysis of the impact on the state credit union system – in particular, the effect on NCUA, the CFPB and credit unions – of the Financial CHOICE Act.
The Financial CHOICE Act (HR 10) was passed by the House Financial Services Committee two weeks ago and has now been sent to the House floor. It seeks to dismantle the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and offering overall reform of the federal financial regulatory structure. It includes a number of provisions NASCUS said it supports, including more transparency in the NCUA budgeting process (including through public hearings) and for the overhead transfer rate (OTR).
The bill also contains a so-called “off-ramp” provision that would allow financial institutions, including credit unions, which maintain an average leverage ratio of at least 10% the option to be exempt from federal capital and liquidity requirements, NAFCU noted. The institutions, if they apply for the exemption and receive it, would be defined as “qualifying banking organizations” (QBOs) in the CHOICE Act.
The six-page NASCUS analysis—which is available to NASCUS members only—looks closely at the impact of the bill (which itself is nearly 600 pages long) on NCUA, the CPFB and credit unions generally, NASCUS said.
Among the issues examined:
- Bringing NCUA and CFPB into the regular Congressional appropriations process
- Budget and National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund transparency at NCUA
- Changing the scope (and name) of the CFPB; removal of the Bureau’s “unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP)” authority and returning preservation of “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” (UDAP), to federal banking regulators, and more.