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April 10, 2013 – NAFCU met with CFPB staff at the bureau's headquarters Monday to discuss credit unions' concerns regarding student lending and indirect auto lending.

NAFCU wrote two comment letters in response to the CFPB's request for information on student lending. In those letters, NAFCU Regulatory Affairs Counsel PJ Hoffman argued for flexibility as the CFPB considers affordability in private student loans and the marketing of products to college students.

The CFPB has also begun to focus on indirect auto lending. It issued guidance last month that potentially sets the stage for making indirect lenders, including credit unions, liable for fair lending violations by auto dealers. (See story.)

During Tuesday's meeting, NAFCU emphasized that the association strongly supports fair lending, but it said the CFPB should not use credit unions as a pass-through to non-regulated auto lenders.

Tuesday's meeting included Hoffman; Senior Regulatory Affairs Counsel Tessema Tefferi; Rick Hackett, the CFPB's assistant director of installment and liquidity lending markets; Eric Reusch, also with installment and liquidity lending markets; and Michael Pierce, a policy analyst in the consumer education and engagement office of students.