Newsroom

NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger met with NCUA Board Vice Chairman Kyle Hauptman Wednesday to discuss multiple topics of interest to credit unions, including the federal credit union (FCU) interest rate ceiling – which the NCUA voted to keep at 18 percent for another 18 months during the agency’s January board meeting.

NAFCU Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Greg Mesack, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Ann Petros, Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long, and Regulatory Affairs Counsel Dale Baker also attended the meeting.

NAFCU has consistently advocated for a floating permissible interest rate ceiling to address constraints of the 15 percent ceiling set by the FCU Act. In addition, the association has offered recommendations for the NCUA to establish a 21 percent interest rate ceiling to allow credit unions to remain a better alternative to banks and fintech lenders considering the current federal funds rate environment. 

During the meeting, the group discussed NAFCU’s advocacy to secure credit unions’ ability to receive money from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (GHGR) Fund. Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agreed with the association’s position and declined to solely disburse funds through a green national bank.

In addition, the group reviewed NCUA’s proposed rule on financial innovation to amend the agency’s loan participation and eligible obligation regulations.

NAFCU staff also reiterated its call for the agency to amend the definition of “commercial loan” and raise the threshold for net aggregate business loans excluded from the definition of a commercial loan to better support small businesses, as well as the need to reform chartering and field of membership requirements. The association has backed previous legislation that would allow all types of credit unions to expand their field of membership into underserved areas, while also broadening the definition of “underserved area” to include anywhere not within ten miles of the nearest financial institution.

NAFCU will continue to work closely with the NCUA to ensure that credit unions have the necessary resources and guidance to effectively serve their 134 million members.