|
Updated September 12, 2008
On March 3, 2008, Reps. Kanjorski and Royce introduced H.R. 5519, the Credit Union Regulatory Relief Act of 2008 (CURRA). As introduced, CURRA was a pared-down version of CURIA that was intended to provide some regulatory relief to credit unions and to be able to pass the House by voice vote under suspension of the rules. However, due to controversy and confusion from the banking lobby’s misrepresentation of the bill, CURRA was pulled from the House schedule until an agreement on how to proceed was reached.
The result was the introduction of another measure by Representatives Kanjorski, Royce and Dennis Moore (D-KS), H.R. 6312, the Credit Union, Bank, and Thrift Regulatory Relief Act of 2008 (CUBTRRA). CUBTRRA combined CURRA provisions with provisions from a bank and thrift regulatory relief bill. The bill was brought straight to the House floor shortly after introduction and was passed by voice vote under suspension of the rules June 24, 2008.
The credit union provisions included in CUBTRRA would:
-
Permit FCUs to have up to 10 percent of aggregate assets in investment-grade securities purchased for their own account;
-
Raise from 1 percent to 3 percent of assets the limit on an FCU’s total investment in or loans to a credit union service organization;
-
Exclude all MBLs to non-profit religious groups from the MBL cap;
-
Permit NCUA to set longer maturities for certain FCU loans;
-
Allow NCUA greater flexibility in setting the FCU usury ceiling;
-
Permit NCUA to set rules for continued service to previous groups by credit unions converting voluntarily to a community charter;
-
Permit NCUA to allow federal credit unions of any charter type to serve underserved areas, while adjusting the definition of an underserved area;
-
Codify FCUs’ ability to provide short-term loans as an alternative to payday loans to anyone in their membership fields;
-
Revise credit union governance provisions; and
-
Exclude MBLs provided in qualified underserved urban and rural communities from the MBL cap.
-
Clarifies credit unions’ participation in the Small Business Administration’s 504 loan program.
Earlier in the 110th Congress, the Senate Banking Committee briefly discussed regulatory relief in the context of an amendment to another bill that was introduced and withdrawn by Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID). At the time, Chairman Dodd said that he remains interested in continuing the Committee’s look at regulatory relief for financial institutions, but no additional action has occurred on the matter in the Senate.
|
