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Credit unions would see several measures of regulatory relief, many of them supported by NAFCU, under a financial reform package unveiled today by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala.

More than 200 pages long, the package contains NAFCU-backed initiatives such as a requirement for public NCUA budget hearings, statutory relief from annual privacy notice requirements and granting of safe harbor qualified-mortgage (QM) status for certain loans held in portfolio.

Additionally, it would require NCUA to study the impact of RBC2 on mortgage servicing assets, require the Federal Housing Finance Agency to withdraw its proposed rule revising Federal Home Loan Bank membership requirements while GAO studies the issue, and grant credit unions parity with community banks in the definition of community financial institution under the Federal Home Loan Bank Act.

The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to hold a mark-up of the package, titled "The Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015," on May 21.

"We thank Chairman Shelby for his commitment to regulatory relief. We are reviewing the package and will be working with the chairman and committee members prior to next week's mark-up to help advance NAFCU's priorities for credit union regulatory relief," said Brad Thaler, NAFCU's vice president of legislative affairs.

See a section-by-section summary of the draft bill online.