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May 23, 2014 - The NCUA Board on Thursday issued a request for comments on regulations considered outdated, burdensome or unnecessary and heard a quarterly report on the Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund showing a $101.8 million decline in the fund's deficit.

The board also approved Glendale, Arizona-based AERO Federal Credit Union's request to add two underserved areas to its field of membership. Board Chairman Debbie Matz spoke in favor of the request, which was approved 3-0. Matz also encouraged federal credit unions to review the agency's community expansion template, a document that provides federal credit unions the information they need to complete applications for community charter conversions and expansions. (The template is an attachment to NCUA Letter 11-FCU-03.)

Thursday's request for comments was issued as part of a review under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act. The act periodically requires federal regulators to publish notice of their rules and regulations by category and to invite comment on which rules are outdated, unnecessary or unduly burdensome. NCUA says it is participating voluntarily. It will publish several categories of rules for public comment at regular intervals during the next two years. Matz said this summer's three listening sessions also offer opportunities for input.

NAFCU Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt welcomed NCUA's request for comments, noting the association will continue to emphasize the need for regulatory relief for credit unions and will press for action on its "dirty dozen" list of rules that could be eliminated or improved.

Hunt also welcomed NCUA's positive report on the corporate stabilization fund. "NAFCU remains supportive of any steps the agency may take to ensure credit unions will not have to pay a penny more to the stabilization fund, and we continue to encourage the payment of a rebate to credit unions on the funds they have already paid in once the fund expires in 2021."