Compliance Blog

Written by Dan O'Brien, Director of Political Affairs

Hello compliance community. Every day you see firsthand the ever growing burden of regulations inflicted on credit unions in the post Dodd-Frank world. Regulatory relief for community based financial institutions has been a hot topic in the 114th Congress (and even in the Republican and Democratic presidential debates). The need for regulatory relief is obvious.  NAFCU continues to be focused on engaging the House, Senate and Administration on various ways to provide regulatory relief for credit unions. This year alone, NAFCU has testified in front of the Senate Banking Committee, the House Financial Services Committee and twice in the House Small Business Committee on the importance and need for regulatory relief.

Several key pieces of legislation have been introduced and are working their way through Congress that would provide meaningful regulatory relief for credit unions. With just 48 days left in 2015 and the Holiday Season being around the corner, Congress is scheduled to be in session for less than 20 days. Negotiations are ongoing with members of Congress to try to see what relief can pass this year.  NAFCU is involved on the Hill and we remain hopeful that regulatory relief legislation that would help credit unions can pass before the end of this year.

Our advocacy efforts are made stronger by the skills and expertise of our members.  We need compliance experts to share their invaluable firsthand knowledge about the unnecessary burdens that over-regulation is placing on credit unions. NAFCU encourages your credit union to contact your members of Congress on the following issues that would provide regulatory relief to credit unions and could possibly see movement this year.

• H.R. 2205 and S. 961, the Data Security Act of 2015, would bring retailers under a national standard akin to that prescribed under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act for financial institutions;
• H.R. 1210, the Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act, would amend the Truth in Lending Act to provide a safe harbor from certain requirements related to qualified mortgages for residential mortgage loans held on an originating depository institution's portfolio.
• S. 1484, the Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015, is a comprehensive regulatory relief package introduced by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) and was reported out by the Senate Banking Committee this spring.  Title I of this package contains a number of relief measures important to credit unions.  Among them are: requiring NCUA to hold an annual budget hearing, granting credit unions parity with community banks in FHLB membership requirements, creating a qualified mortgage safe harbor for certain loans held in portfolio, raising the CFPB examination threshold to $50B and indexing other Dodd-Frank thresholds for inflation, and creating an independent process to appeal exam results.  It is important to weigh-in with your Senators to let them know that credit unions need comprehensive regulatory relief like what is found in Title I of S. 1484.

For more information please go to NAFCU's Grassroots Action Center today.  Your credit union can encourage them to support and cosponsor key pieces of legislation like the Data Security Act of 2015 (H.R. 2205 and S. 961), the Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act (H.R. 1210),  and the Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015 (S. 1484). All these bills cover different portions of NAFCU's Five Point Plan for Regulatory Relief.  Share your stories on the regulatory burdens impacting you credit union with your members of Congress. It will help NAFCU's lobbyists in their legislative efforts, strengthen our advocacy and show Congress that we are serious about enacting real relief for our nation's credit unions.

We are happy to help your credit union with your outreach to your members of Congress and to answer any questions you may have about our advocacy efforts. If you have any interest in learning more about NAFCU's grassroots advocacy efforts, you can email me directly at dobrien@nafcu.org. 

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Friday the 13^th fact:

The 32nd President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt, never traveled on a 13th and refused to have a meal with 13 people at the table.