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NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger, marking the sixth anniversary of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, on Thursday called for regulatory relief for credit unions and for CFPB to use its exemption authority as Congress intended.

"As we mark the six-year anniversary of Dodd-Frank, credit unions continue to suffer under an enormous regulatory burden that was borne out of a crisis they didn't create," Berger said in a statement. "We are pleased that bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate have recognized the burden on credit unions and have urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to do more to exempt and better tailor its rules for credit unions.

"This week's letter from Sens. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., and Ben Sasse, R-Neb., and 68 of their colleagues, as well as an earlier letter sent by 329 House members to Director Cordray, undeniably confirms Congress' intention for CFPB to exercise its exemption authority to better tailor rules for credit unions," he continued.

Berger noted that while lawmakers and regulators alike have recognized that credit unions did not cause the financial crisis, "there appears to be no end in sight" for overregulation. "Since the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, we have lost 20 percent of the industry due to this overwhelming regulatory burden," Berger said.

Berger also recognized House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, and Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chairman Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, for drawing attention to the failures of the Durbin amendment. "It is time to repeal this provision," Berger said.

NAFCU was the only credit union trade association to oppose subjecting credit unions to CFPB authority under Dodd-Frank. The association maintains that CFPB should exercise its authority to exempt credit unions from regulations aimed at bad actors.​