Serving Those who Serve Us
As we observe Veteran's Day today, I thought I'd share some resources that describe credit union responsibilities relating to products and services used by members of the armed services. There are two major areas to remember. First, there is the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). Second, there's the new Department of Defense (DoD) Anti-Predatory Lending Regulation.
The SCRA provides a number of protections for covered servicemembers and their dependants. Here's a great resource page on the SCRA from the U.S. Coast Guard. Here's a SCRA brochure that NAFCU members can download for free. (Member log in needed.)
The second major area that governs lending to servicemembers is the recently finalized DoD regulation.  Here is NAFCU's Final Regulation that provides a great overview of credit union requirements. (NAFCU members only.) Here is NCUA's Regulatory Alert that provides another overview of the new requirements.
Make sure the folks that design and implement your credit union's lending program are up to snuff on this stuff. The men and women in our armed forces deserve no less! And for those who are serving now or have served in the past, the Compliance Guy says thank you!