Newsroom

April 27, 2017

House committee continues CHOICE Act discussions today

The House Financial Services Committee today will continue discussing the Financial CHOICE Act during a hearing at 9:15 a.m. Eastern. The bill, H.R. 10, contains numerous NAFCU-sought measures, including Durbin interchange amendment repeal and other Dodd-Frank Act reforms.

Committee members began discussing the bill during a hearing Wednesday. The Dodd-Frank Act's impact on the current regulatory environment and smaller financial institutions such as credit unions was cited often.

In a letter to the committee ahead of Wednesday's hearing, NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger noted the association's support of the draft language of the Financial CHOICE Act and provided analysis of the draft.

The CHOICE Act would require regulatory agencies to improve their cost-benefit analyses and better tailor regulations to the size of regulated institutions. It would also preserve the NCUA Board's current three-member structure (last year, a five-member board was contemplated) and mandate agency budget transparency. However, there are also areas of concern, such as a proposal to subject the NCUA to congressional appropriations.

NAFCU will monitor today's hearing for any news relevant to the credit union industry. Credit unions are encouraged to reach out to their members of Congress and urge them to support regulatory relief measures as part of an ongoing campaign through NAFCU's Grassroots Action Center.

The House Financial Services Committee is reportedly seeking to mark-up the Financial CHOICE Act on Tuesday.

More on the CHOICE Act and its impact on credit unions is addressed today in the NAFCU Compliance Blog.