Newsroom

November 19, 2016

Compliance Blog eyes rural communities, exam cycles

NAFCU Special Counsel Pamela Yu offered an overview of recent CFPB and NCUA news in today's Compliance Blog, including the CFPB's updated list of rural and underserved communities and the NCUA's plans for extended exam cycles.

The CFPB last week updated and published its lists of rural and underserved counties for 2017 for credit unions and other lenders to use in determining whether certain Truth in Lending Act mortgage rules apply.

"The lists can significantly impact mortgage originations for certain entities," Yu wrote. "Credit unions operating predominantly in rural or underserved counties are exempt from certain regulatory requirements. For example, as we blogged about back in September 2015, the CFPB's final amendments to its definition of small creditors and rural or underserved areas under Regulation Z provided some credit unions with regulatory relief."​

Also last week, the NCUA Board approved 10 recommendations from the agency's Exam Flexibility Initiative working group, including an extended examination cycle for well-run, healthy federal credit unions with less than $1 billion in assets, which will go into effect in 2017.