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August 24, 2014

Hoffman urges NCUA on reg relief

NAFCU urged NCUA to continue looking for ways to provide credit unions with regulatory relief – particularly citing its "Dirty Dozen" list – in a comment letter submitted Monday by association Regulatory Affairs Council PJ Hoffman.

The letter addresses rules targeted in the agency's 2014 review of one-third of its regulations as well as other issues NAFCU believes deserve immediate attention.

Hoffman thanked NCUA for its acknowledgment of NAFCU's "Dirty Dozen" list so far, and reiterated the list's importance – noting particularly the elements of the list which NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz noted when speaking at the association's Annual Conference and Solutions Expo last month, including expanding credit unions' investment authority and allowing more flexibility for member business loans.

NCUA has included its security program rule in this year's review list. Hoffman, pointing to a July 2014 article in the agency's newsletter, The NCUA Report, on the basics of an information security policy, suggested that similar guidance be incorporated into the rule to give credit unions an idea of "how to properly construct their information security program," keeping in mind the need for flexibility for credit unions of different size and complexity. He also urged the agency to work with Congress on data security reforms that:

  • establish national standards for safekeeping of all financial information;
  • establish enforcement standards for data security that prohibit merchants from retaining financial data, and require merchants to disclose their data security policies to customers; and
  • hold merchants accountable for the costs of a data breach, especially when it was due to their own negligence; shift the burden of proof in data breach cases to the party that incurred a breach; and require timely disclosures in the event of a breach.

The NAFCU letter also notes NAFCU's concerns and suggestions regarding such issues as debt collection procedures, interest rate risk, loans in areas with flood hazards and NCUA budget transparency.