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As part of a series of hearings on fostering economic growth, the Senate Banking Committee will hear the perspective of financial regulators next Thursday, June 22, including testimony from NCUA Acting Chairman J. Mark McWatters.

Other witnesses scheduled to testify are:

• Federal Reserve Gov. Jerome Powell;
• FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg;
• Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika;
• Texas banking Commissioner Charles Cooper, on behalf of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.

Last Friday, 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 yesterday before NAFCU's Annual Conference in Honolulu, McWatters noted his support for regulatory relief and streamlined operations at the agency.