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NAFCU on Thursday welcomed NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz's announcement that she will create working groups to study field-of-membership and secondary capital – both issues NAFCU has flagged in its long-running effort to win regulatory relief for credit unions.

NAFCU has long urged improvements in the agency's field-of-membership rules to facilitate growth. The association has also urged NCUA to find ways to improve low-income credit unions' access to supplemental capital.

Carrie Hunt, NAFCU's senior vice president of government affairs and general counsel, welcomed Matz's announcement. "We thank Chairman Matz for the creation of the two working groups," said Hunt. "We are pleased that NCUA listened to our recommendation to make the process easier for low-income credit unions to get supplemental capital."

Matz said the FOM working group will be led by the NCUA Office of Consumer Protection. It will identify obstacles to federal credit unions seeking expansion and evaluate possible rule changes to make the federal charter more competitive – an objective that aligns with NAFCU's advocacy for a strong federal charter – while complying with the Credit Union Membership Access Act.

The supplemental capital working group will be led by the Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives.

Both groups will consult with credit unions, Matz said. The supplemental capital group will consult with both federal and state-chartered credit unions and with secondary capital investors.

Matz, who was speaking during an open board meeting discussion of the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act, also noted ongoing review of the member business loan rules, which she said are slated for modernization early next year. She said modernization could eliminate the waiver requirements. NCUA is also looking to address the personal guarantee requirement and constraints on construction loans.

FOM, capital and MBL rules are on NAFCU's Dirty Dozen list of rules the association has targeted for improvements or elimination. NAFCU is also pursuing legislation that would improve the underlying statute governing FOM, MBL and capital (see more on NAFCU's five-point plan for regulatory relief).

Matz said the initiatives announced Thursday are a continuation of her regulatory modernization initiative.

The board on Thursday also approved a $4.1 million oversight budget for the Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund and approved a revised appraisal rule.