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May 8, 2014 – NAFCU Director of Regulatory Affairs Mike Coleman and other members of the association's regulatory affairs team updated credit unions on regulations from NCUA and CFPB during a webcast Wednesday.

Coleman and Regulatory Affairs Counsels PJ Hoffman and Alicia Nealon touched on several regulations from both agencies, including those dealing with stress testing and capital planning, voluntary liquidations, remittances, prepaid cards and privacy. The speakers particularly emphasized the importance of credit unions sending comment letters to NCUA on its proposed rule on risk-based capital, which are due by May 28.

"We can't reiterate enough the importance of sending your comments and individual feedback to the NCUA," Coleman said. He also noted the opportunity for the agency to "really hear your voice" during the scheduled NCUA listening sessions.

Hoffman touted the association's resources and tools on the subject of capital reform, especially the risk-based net worth calculator. Credit unions can use this tool to calculate their risk-based net worth ratios using risk weights of their choosing. He also referenced the NAFCU research team's findings about what the proposed rule would cost.

"We found that it's going to cost over $7 billion for credit unions to have the same capital cushion as they have now with the proposed rule," Hoffman said. "That's not a small chunk of change."

Risk-based capital will be a prominent subject at NAFCU's upcoming Annual Conference and Solutions Expo, to be held in Las Vegas from July 22-26. In the meantime, NAFCU is planning its own formal comment letter to NCUA on the subject and continues to advocate for a risk-based capital regime that takes material risks into account.

The webcast will remain available on-demand for one year.