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NAFCU shares concerns on bill providing NCUA with additional vendor authority
NAFCU Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Greg Mesack Friday wrote to the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee to share the Association’s opposition and concerns regarding S.4698, the Improving Cybersecurity of Credit Unions Act, which would grant the NCUA additional authority to examine credit union service organizations (CUSOs) and other third-party vendors.
Mesack noted that while NAFCU supports a strong NCUA, the agency should “stay focused on where their expertise lies – regulating credit unions.” Credit unions fund the NCUA budget, and implementing such a new authority would incur additional expenditures by the agency - which would be borne by credit unions and their 131 million members.
Of note, Mesack mentioned that the NCUA already has tools that grant them access to information about CUSO’s and third-party vendors. Mesack also suggested that the agency work with the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council to gain information on vendors already vetted by federal regulators.
“If that option is not available for NCUA due to the decisions of other regulators, Congress should consider compelling the other regulators to share the information,” added Mesack.
NAFCU has long opposed similar legislation, including the House version of this bill introduced in March that was included as part of the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), specifically highlighting concerns about the wide authority it would give the NCUA and potential costs to credit unions.
Read the full letter. NAFCU will continue to oppose granting this additional authority for the NCUA and will keep members up to date via NAFCU Today on relevant regulatory changes.
Interested in sharing your credit union’s concerns on this topic? Register for NAFCU’s 2022 Congressional Caucus to engage lawmakers and regulators on a wide range of industry topics and all things happening on the Hill. The Congressional Caucus, happening September 11-14, will be held in-person in Washington, D.C. Don’t forget: Save $200.00 on registration for Congressional Caucus with code BEIMPACTFUL through Aug. 12.