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The Senate Banking Committee yesterday passed a NAFCU-backed regulatory reform bill that includes provisions offering relief under the member business lending (MBL) cap and certain Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) disclosure requirements. The bill now awaits action by the full Senate.

"Regulatory burden is a huge challenge for today's credit unions, and we appreciate Senate Banking Chairman [Mike] Crapo and the Democratic and Republican panel members who recognize this challenge," said NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger. "Creating a positive regulatory and legislative environment that allows credit unions to succeed is a top priority of NAFCU. We look forward to continuing our work with the Senate on this bill and other transformative legislation.

"This bill is a step in the right direction, and we will continue to advocate for the success of credit unions and their 110 million member-owners," Berger added.

The bill includes:

• The Credit Union Residential Loan Parity Act, which would allow credit unions to treat loans for one-to-four-unit, non-owner-occupied dwellings that qualify for the MBL exemption as residential loans with lower interest rates – similar to how banks make these loans to small businesses.
• The Home Mortgage Disclosure Adjustment Act, which would exempt depository institutions that have originated fewer than 500 open-end lines of credit and closed-end mortgages in the previous two years from certain HMDA reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Additional NAFCU-supported provisions in Title I of the package would provide credit unions with regulatory relief from various Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and TILA/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) integrated mortgage disclosure rule provisions.

Two credit union-relevant provisions were also included in the managers amendment to the bill during mark-up: One that would require the NCUA to publish a detailed budget and hold a public hearing to receive comments from the public on its budget annually, and another that would clarify and streamline the process for establishing online banking accounts.

NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt sent a letter to the committee ahead of the mark-up in support of the measure, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155).

The Senate Banking Committee yesterday also voted 22-1 to advance Jerome Powell, the president's nominee to serve as chair of the Federal Reserve Board, to the full Senate.