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Ahead of today's House Financial Services Committee hearing to discuss the response to the coronavirus pandemic and ensure consumers have the resources and relief needed to recover from inflicted financial difficulties, NAFCU's Brad Thaler highlighted tools and flexibility that will allow credit unions to better support members and communities.

Thaler, NAFCU's vice president of legislative affairs, highlighted ways in which credit unions have stepped up to help members impacted by the pandemic and outlined measures to be included in the next coronavirus relief package to support these efforts, including related to:

• capital flexibility under the Federal Credit Union (FCU) Act similar to what banks were provided in the CARES Act;
• additional investment authorities for federal credit unions;
• relief under the member business lending (MBL) cap;
• extending credit unions' loan maturity limits under the FCU Act;
• allowing all credit unions to add underserved areas to their fields of membership;
• modernizing the E-SIGN Act; and
• protecting credit unions with liability protections.

Thaler also called for some previous relief provisions to be extended or made permanent, including expanded access to the NCUA's Central Liquidity Facility (CLF), deposit insurance, changes to Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs to improve access, and relief from the current expected credit loss (CECL) standard, and cautioned against some efforts that could hinder credit unions' abilities to serve their members.

Read Thaler's full letter here.

A House Financial Services subcommittee will also meet today to discuss issues specific to supporting small and minority-owned businesses, and NAFCU provided the House Small Business Committee with insights into credit unions' efforts to assist small businesses impacted by the pandemic ahead of its hearing today.

NAFCU will continue to work closely with the Biden administration, Congress, and regulators to seek tools that allow credit unions and their members to recover from the pandemic and thrive.