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June 21, 2017

McWatters testifies before Senate Banking today on economic growth

NCUA Acting Chairman J. Mark McWatters is set to testify today before the Senate Banking Committee as part of the panel's series of hearings focused on fostering economic growth.

NAFCU will attend today's hearing, which is slated to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern. The Senate Banking Committee will also hear from Federal Reserve Gov. Jerome Powell, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika and Texas banking Commissioner Charles Cooper, on behalf of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.

Earlier this month, NAFCU witness Steve Grooms, president and CEO of 1st Liberty Federal Credit Union of Great Falls, Mont., appeared before the committee and said that NAFCU stood ready to work with Congress on meaningful regulatory relief for the credit union industry.

Grooms said that if Congress wants to foster economic growth, it is vital to enact relief for credit unions, including: relaxed field-of-membership restrictions; modernized credit union capital standards; exemptions from rules targeting banks and larger institutions (including Home Mortgage Disclosure Act rules); more freedom for member business lending; and a total credit union exemption from the CFPB's rulemaking.

In remarks last week before NAFCU's Annual Conference in Honolulu, McWatters noted his support for regulatory relief and streamlined operations at the agency.