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CU reg burden raised at Cordray hearing
CFPB Director Richard Cordray addressed credit unions during a live NAFCU webcast in April. |
March 13, 2013 - The issue of the CFPB's regulatory burden on credit unions was raised by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-S.D., during a hearing Tuesday on the nomination of CFPB Director Richard Cordray.
Johnson told Cordray that he has heard complaints from credit unions and community banks about the overwhelming number of regulations coming from the CFPB. When he asked how the agency is addressing those concerns, Cordray said that the CFPB has ongoing communications with smaller institutions, noting the bureau's Credit Union Advisory Council, which met Tuesday, and the Community Bank Advisory Council.
Cordray also pointed out that he speaks at trade group meetings for both credit unions and community banks. He said the outreach has been helpful, and impacted the CFPB's rulemaking. He also reiterated that credit unions and community banks were not the cause of the financial crisis.
Ranking Member Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said the CFPB lacks sufficient oversight and expressed concerns about the absence of public accounting information that details how the CFPB is spending its funds.
While NAFCU has forged strong working relationships with Cordray, other bureau officials and staff, the association has been pressing for a different structure to the agency. Specifically, NAFCU would prefer to see the bureau run by a five-member commission rather than a single administrator.
NAFCU is not alone in this concern. Republicans are continuing to block the confirmation of Cordray until the Obama administration agrees to changes that would alter the bureau's structure to resemble the multi-member board approach used by the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory agencies. Republicans also want greater oversight over the CFPB's appropriations.
Cordray, formerly Ohio's attorney general, has been serving as CFPB director under a presidential recess appointment. The appointment, carried out after the first nomination stalled, is due to expire this year. The president renominated Cordray in January.