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CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney told members of the House Financial Services Committee yesterday that he wants to better tailor regulations to reduce the regulatory burden on credit unions and community banks, as well as expand the bureau's use of its exemption authority. These are both priorities for NAFCU, which have been consistently shared with the CFPB and Congress.

Mulvaney also indicated his continued belief that reforming the CFPB's structure to a commission rather than a single director would increase its accountability and reduce its partisanship. NAFCU has long advocated for this change, and is supportive of the Financial Product Safety Commission Act (H.R. 5266), which would accomplish that.

Mulvaney was testifying before the committee on the CFPB's semi-annual report to Congress. The report and Mulvaney's testimony urge Congress to increase oversight and accountability of the bureau, as he believes it currently has too much power.

During questioning by committee members, Mulvaney said he was interested in expanding the bureau's exemption authority, especially on regulations related to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and the CFPB's remittances rule. NAFCU has told the bureau that new HMDA reporting requirements are an added compliance burden to credit unions, and that many credit unions have stopped offering remittance programs because of the CFPB's rule.

Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Colo., also asked Mulvaney about a one-size-fits-all approach to rulemaking, which Mulvaney said he would like to move away from.

"Accepting for sake of the discussion that the bureau was created in order to prevent the next financial crisis … I don't think anybody in this chamber would suggest that the community banks or credit unions were the cause of the financial crisis and they should be treated the same as the large financial institutions, which in many circumstances is what we do – what Dodd-Frank does and what the bureau does," Mulvaney testified. "I'm going to try really hard to fix that, to tailor regulations to the size and sophistication of the various entities that we oversee. I just think that makes sense."

Mulvaney also said during the hearing that the CFPB will not pursue an overdraft rule anytime soon, and that the House and Senate should continue bipartisan discussions to improve provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act as this may be the only chance they get for a while. The Senate passed S. 2155, which includes various credit union regulatory relief measures related to member business lending (MBL) and HDMA, last month. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, has indicated his desire to include additional bipartisan relief efforts in the bill, many which have already passed the House.

NAFCU had sent a letter to the House Financial Services Committee prior to the hearing, which laid out the association's priorities for the CFPB in order to reduce credit union's regulatory burden. Mulvaney's testimony indicated that he is likely to pursue many of those efforts while acting director.

Mulvaney will discuss the bureau's semi-annual report again today with the Senate Banking Committee; the hearing begins at 10 a.m. Eastern. NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt sent a letter ahead of the hearing to Senate Banking Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, offering ways to reduce the CFPB's regulatory burden on credit unions.

The full letter to the Senate Banking Committee is available here; NAFCU's 2018 priorities for the CFPB are available here.