ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The NCUA board Thursday approved three agenda items to be added to remaining board meetings for 2021. But the divide between board members clearly remains, as the motion was passed 2-1.
Chairman Todd Harper, the lone Democrat, cast the dissenting vote.
Agenda items approved:
- A final rule on credit union service organizations (Part 712) to be placed on the NCUA Oct. 21 board agenda
- A final rule on field of membership shared facility requirements (Part 701, Appendix B) on the Nov. 18 agenda
- A final rule on mortgage servicing rights (Parts 703 and 721) to be placed on the Dec. 16 agenda
“We should consider these final rules and let the board work its will,” said Board Member Rodney Hood. “In speaking with the chairman's chief of staff, I believe we may be able to reach consensus on some of these items. Again, some and perhaps not all, in a bipartisan fashion if we work hard enough to do so.”
No Rush
Harper was less optimistic.
“Although I will not support this action — because I believe that crafting good rules should not be rushed — I want to be clear that to me this item is not a contentious one,” he said. “There are times in many negotiations where the parties find themselves at an impasse. When that occurs, there are often processes that exist to move beyond the impasse while protecting everyone’s positions and rights. We have such rules built into the agency’s board procedural regulations. That is how I view this agenda item on agenda items.”
Harper added that it should not come as a surprise to anyone that his policy positions on these three rules have not changed since they were first proposed.
“In my view, the CUSO rule would be the wrong rule at the wrong time. The current economic environment we live in should have us focused on rules to protect consumers and to prepare the system for potential credit losses once COVID-19 pandemic-relief programs like supplemental unemployment benefits, foreclosure moratoriums, and mandatory forbearance periods end. The CUSO rule is not related to providing COVID relief to credit union members, and it is more likely in the long run to harm small credit unions than it is to help them.”
Harper said he could not support the field of membership shared facility requirements proposed rule as the proposal and the and request for comment do not conform with either the “letter or the spirit of the Federal Credit Union Act. However, I believe that if the board can reach consensus on remedying those deficiencies, there could be a path forward on this rule.”
Turning to the mortgage servicing rights proposed rule, Harper noted that in December he stated he was not necessarily signaling his opposition to moving ahead with a final rule.
“Instead, if the final rule contains appropriate and substantive guardrails to mitigate the inherent risks in mortgage servicing, I would support a final rule,” Harper explained. “Today, I am optimistic that the board will find that consensus, as we do on many other items.”