NAFCU's Five-Point Plan for Credit Union Regulatory Relief
Written by Steve Van Beek
We mentioned last week, NAFCU's letter to Congressional leaders calling for regulatory relief for credit unions.
Below, I'll outline the five-point plan and why regulatory relief is needed (nevermind - no need to preach to the choir!).
I did want to share this paragraph which does a great job of explaining the issue to Congress:
"Our nation's credit unions are struggling under an ever-increasing regulatory burden that must be immediately addressed.  A survey of NAFCU members late last year found that 94% have seen their regulatory burden increase since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act in July 2010.  The regulatory onslaught continues to compound as credit unions now have over 5,000 pages of rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that they must understand, interpret, and ultimately comply with - despite the fact that Congress has widely acknowledged that credit unions were not the cause of the financial crisis.  Credit unions, many of which have very small compliance departments, must comply with the same rules and regulations as our nation's largest financial institutions that employ armies of lawyers.  The impact of the ever-increasing regulatory burden is even more sobering, as the number of credit unions continues to decline.  There are nearly 700 fewer credit unions today than there were before the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act."
Read that last line again: Â There are nearly 700 fewer credit unions today than there were before the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act. Â
That is why NAFCU is pushing so hard for regulatory relief.
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Five-Point Plan. NAFCU's five-point plan for credit union regulatory relief covers these five major issues (we'll discuss each in more detail in later blog posts):
- Administrative Improvements for the Powers of the NCUA
- Capital Reforms for Credit Unions
- Structural Improvements for Credit Unions
- Operational Improvements for Credit Unions
- 21st Century Data Security Standards
You can find the full letter and details here. Â As indicated, we'll expand on each point in future blog posts. Â