Newsroom

A bipartisan group of 70 senators signed a NAFCU-supported letter delivered to CFPB Director Richard Cordray today urging him to use the bureau's Dodd-Frank Act authority to exempt credit unions from certain rulemakings.

The letter, spearheaded by Sens. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., and Ben Sasse, R-Neb., urges CFPB to grant credit unions relief through its authority under Section 1022(b)(3)(a) in the Dodd-Frank Act to grant exemptions on a rule-by-rule basis to "any class" of entity from its regulatory requirements. NAFCU has repeatedly pressed the bureau to use that authority more effectively.

"We thank Senators Donnelly and Sasse for their leadership on this issue, and all of the senators who signed the letter, for their recognition of the overwhelming regulatory burden facing today's credit unions," said NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler. "Given that 329 House members sent Director Cordray a similar letter earlier this year, it is clear that Congress intends for CFPB to use its Dodd-Frank Act exemption authority to better tailor its rules to credit unions."

The Donnelly/Sasse letter emphasizes the negative impact of the regulatory burden experienced by community institutions since the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act.

NAFCU was the only credit union trade association to oppose subjecting credit unions to CFPB authority under Dodd-Frank. The association maintains that CFPB has and should be using its authority to exempt credit unions from regulations aimed at bad actors.

The senators' letter is similar to the one sent to Cordray in March by a bipartisan group of 329 House members.