Newsroom

January 14, 2017

Berger in The Hill: Reg relief is a 'national necessity'

NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger, in an editorial Friday in The Hill, said effective regulatory relief for credit unions is an urgent necessity not only for that industry but for the economy at large.

He emphasized that overregulation affects everyone. "It slows economic growth, hampers innovation, stymies job growth and pushes compliance costs to astronomical levels," he wrote. "The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) estimated federal regulations cost $1.885 trillion in 2015. Based on these costs, CEI describes federal regulation as an unseen tax that costs about $15,000 per U.S. household."

Berger noted that overregulation has had a serious impact on credit unions, causing their compliance expenses to increase 59 percent and contributing to a loss of 20 percent of the industry since the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010.

"Today, there are only 5,844 federally-insured credit unions. Credit unions provide financial services with low fees, competitive interest rates and exceptional service," Berger wrote. "As credit unions disappear, there are fewer low-cost options for consumers. Regulatory relief for credit unions is necessary to allow these institutions to continue to meet the needs of their more than 106 million members."

Berger also touted other top priorities for NAFCU in 2017, including the repeal of Dodd-Frank's Durbin amendment, which he noted has led to $8 billion per year in additional profits for merchants without the promised lowered prices for consumers.

"It is time to recognize that Congress must reverse a law that has failed to do what its champions promised it would do," he wrote.