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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | July 17, 2014

NAFCU, Members Attend NCUA's Alexandria Session to Voice Concerns

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAFCU, Members Attend NCUA's Alexandria Session to Voice Concerns

Washington (July 17, 2014) –National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) President and CEO Dan Berger is on-site with more than 100 credit union professionals from across the country at the National Credit Union Administration's (NCUA) Alexandria, Va., listening session to express their concerns on an array of regulatory issues, including the agency's proposed, sweeping risk-based capital rule. Credit unions will engage with Chairman Debbie Matz and Board Member Rick Metsger and NCUA senior staff during today's final listening session, from 1- 4 p.m. Eastern at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center.

NAFCU Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt, Director of Regulatory Affairs Mike Coleman and Regulatory Affairs Counsel PJ Hoffman, as well as numerous NAFCU members are also attending the session.

"NAFCU and the credit union industry are capitalizing on every opportunity to advance the case for capital requirements that are fair for all credit unions," said Berger. "We appreciate NCUA stating it will consider comments received and make changes, and we welcome the agency's efforts to engage the industry to produce meaningful feedback. We still believe credit unions should have an opportunity to review and comment on any revised proposal before it is issued in final form."

As NCUA considers next steps for this proposed rule, NAFCU will continue to press for significant changes, among them:

  • risk-weighting that does not place credit unions at a competitive disadvantage with community banks; and
  • an implementation and compliance period of at least three years.

NCUA has received more than 2,000 comment letters, a record number, from the credit union industry (including NAFCU) on this proposed rule. Lawmakers have also expressed great concerns regarding NCUA's proposed risk-based capital rule.

Recently, House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., sent a letter to NCUA Chairman Matz asking NCUA to provide the subcommittee with information to support the agency's risk-based capital proposal. In May, led by Reps. Peter King, R-N.Y., and Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., 324 members of the House of Representatives signed and sent a letterto Chairman Matz to urge consideration of significant changes to this proposed rule. NCUA also received letters from many senators, including Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Ranking Member Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, and Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee Chairman Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., have also written NCUA to note specific concerns about the risk weights in the proposed risk-based capitalrule.

For more information on capital reform, go to www.nafcu.org/capitalreform/.

The National Association of Federal Credit Unions is the only national organization that focuses exclusively on federal issues affecting credit unions, representing its members before the federal government and the public.

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Contact: Patty Briotta | 703-842-2820 |pbriotta@nafcu.org