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NAFCU’s Regulatory Committee met Tuesday and discussed several proposals that are open for comment from federal financial regulators, including the NCUA, CFPB, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and the Department of Commerce.

Attendees at the meeting heard from a representative at the CFPB’s Office for Older Americans on the importance of awareness and action against elder abuse, romance scams, and trusted contacts. Today is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day; NAFCU will hold a webinar on June 28 on ways credit unions can identify, prevent, respond, and report scams and fraud targeting older adults.

The Committee also discussed FinCEN’s advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM), issued earlier this month, on creating a No Action Letter (NAL) program, a topic they first shared with Congress this time last year, and one they deemed would be a useful process for involved parties.

NAFCU sent members a Regulatory Alert breaking down and soliciting feedback on the ANPRM, which would be “a letter indicating [FinCEN’s] intention not to take or recommend enforcement action against the submitting party for the specific conduct presented in the submitting party’s request.” Comments in response to the ANPRM are due to NAFCU July 22 and can be submitted through the alert; comments are due to FinCEN Aug. 15.

Of note, the Committee discussed the Commerce Department’s request for comment (RFC) regarding its development of a framework for enhancing U.S. economic competitiveness in digital asset technologies. The RFC aligns closely with the priorities and objectives outlined in Joe Biden's Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets. NAFCU also sent members a Regulatory Alert to solicit feedback from members. Comments in response to the RFC are due to NAFCU June 21 and can be submitted through the alert; comments are due to the Commerce Department July 5. 

Committee members also discussed the NCUA’s recent Letter to Credit Unions on credit union use of distributed ledger technologies (DLT) in connection with permissible credit union activities. The agency heeded NAFCU’s call to adopt a form-agnostic approach to assessing how credit unions use digital assets and related technologies. 

The Committee also examined the CFPB’s recent announcements, advisory opinions, enforcement actions, and interpretive rules from May, including an advisory opinion affirming that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B prohibit discrimination against members during the life of a loan, not just during the application process. NAFCU’s Regulatory Compliance team blogged about this advisory opinion in a recent Compliance Blog, read more in depth on the topic here.