ARLINGTON, Va.–NCUA’s call for a number of statutory changes to be made to the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) represents changes that don’t need to be made, according to one trade group.
As CUToday.info also reported, in his letter NCUA Chairman Todd Harper said NCUA is also seeking a number of statutory changes to be made to the NCUSIF, saying the changes would better protect the fund.
Among those changes, NCUA is seeking to:
• Increase the NCUSIF’s capacity by removing the 1.5% statutory ceiling on the normal operating level.
• Remove the interim limitation on assessing premiums when the equity ratio exceeds 1.3%, granting the NCUA board discretion on the assessment of premiums.
• Provide the NCUA board with the option to use risk-based premiums and use total assets as the assessment basis, not insured shares.
“We have a share insurance committee that fully vets those issues,” said Hunt. “In general we oppose any changes to the NCUSIF at this point in time. We don’t see a need for it. Obviously, there is an opportunity for debate and discussion, but we think the system works as it should. The money belongs in the pockets of credit unions.”
Response to Interchange Lawsuit
In addition, as CUToday.info also reported, the nation’s retailers have filed a lawsuit seeking to have the Federal Reserve lower its 10-year-old cap on the swipe fees being charged to process debit card transactions, saying the agency wrongly applied federal law and that merchants have paid billions of dollars more than intended by Congress while banks’ costs have fallen.
“Interchange is important,” said Hunt. “But fraud has increased and increased and increased, and merchants don’t have to follow the same data security requirements. We don’t think this is the time to attack interchange income. We think there are arguments to be made that there should be no cap on interchange, much less going in the opposite direction.”