Newsroom

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington (May 21, 2015) - National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) President and CEO Dan Berger issued the following statement in response to the approval by the Senate Banking Committee of the "Financial Regulatory Improvement Act," a draft regulatory relief bill authored by committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and supported by NAFCU. It was approved by the committee in a party-line vote of 12-10 after mark-up this morning.

"We applaud committee members for moving the bill forward, and we welcome more progress being made on behalf of credit union regulatory relief," said NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger. "This is a positive development and a solid step forward in overcoming the regulatory overburden the credit union industry now faces. However, more needs to be done – and we are working on the development of a bipartisan approach to get the job done."

The package includes several NAFCU-backed provisions for credit union relief and transparency at NCUA. The bill would require public NCUA budget hearings and require the agency to study the impact of its risk-based capital proposal on mortgage servicing assets.

The committee-approved bill also includes an amendment from Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., to raise the asset threshold for institutions subject to CFPB examinations from $10 billion to $50 billion. NAFCU supports this amendment, although the association has always advocated the exemption of all credit unions from CFPB regulation. The bill also includes a NAFCU-backed amendment from Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, that would bar federal financial institution regulators from participating in the Justice Department's Operation Choke Point initiative.

The bill will proceed to the full Senate, where it will require some Democratic lawmakers' support to pass with a supermajority of 60 votes.

The National Association of Federal Credit Unions is the only national trade association that exclusively represents the interests of federally chartered credit unions before the federal government and the public.

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