Newsroom

June 29, 2016

Mulvaney touts CHOICE Act during call-in

House Financial Services Committee member Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., touted the importance of the "Financial CHOICE Act" and noted his plans for a standalone bill related to NCUA's overhead transfer rate, during NAFCU's member-only call-in Wednesday.

The CHOICE bill, from committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, includes a NAFCU-supported repeal of the Durbin amendment as well as relief for well-capitalized institutions from regulatory restrictions. Mulvaney said he plans to introduce part of the legislation's language on NCUA's OTR as a stand-alone bill. The bill would mandate increased transparency, including detailed breakdowns of costs, about how the OTR is calculated.

NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger called Mulvaney a "terrific champion" of credit unions and noted his consistent support for increased transparency and government oversight for NCUA's budget.

NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt spoke about association member concerns about litigation risks. She advised credit unions to keep an eye on CFPB's consumer complaint database and its "snapshot" complaint reports as a window into potential litigation risks.

Hunt also noted NAFCU's support for NCUA Chairman Rick Metsger's plan to hold a public budget briefing in October.

"We are appreciative and happy that we're seeing some progress on that front," Hunt said, and she noted that the new hearings might be an "improvement" over budgetary hearings held by NCUA in the past, because the agency will publish more detailed information beforehand.

call-in June
NAFCU staff at Wednesday's member-only call-in.

Also during Wednesday's call:

• NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler discussed what legislation NAFCU is eyeing, including a bill from Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, to repeal the Durbin amendment and the bill from Rep. Frank Guinta, R-N.H., to allow an 18-month exam cycle for well-run credit unions with assets of $1 billion or less.
• Director of Regulatory Affairs Alexander Monterrubio noted CFPB's recent proposals on arbitration and payday lending. "It is a sweeping change of short-term, small-dollar lending," he said of the payday proposal, adding that NAFCU is monitoring the rule's progress to make sure credit union products are protected. He also noted the expected arrival of an NCUA final rule on field of membership in the late fall.
• Director of Regulatory Compliance Brandy Bruyere touted NAFCU's new compliance resources collection for the Military Lending Act rule, which she said prompts 20 percent of all lending questions to her department. Bruyere also noted an expected proposal from CFPB this summer that would revise the Truth in Lending Act/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act integrated disclosure rule, which continues to cause compliance problems.
• Chief Economist and Director of Research Curt Long discussed recent economic turmoil and how the lowered labor participation rate and recent "Brexit" vote in the U.K. are influencing the Federal Open Market Committee to wait to implement another interest rate hike. He predicted the committee would wait until at least December.

NAFCU Director of Political Affairs Dan O'Brien also noted that this year is the 40th anniversary for NAFCU/PAC. He urged members to attend NAFCU's Congressional Caucus in Washington in December and to keep in contact with lawmakers on credit union issues.