Newsroom

June 20, 2017

NAFCU's Hunt in CUToday: 'The door is opening for regulatory relief'

Writing in CUToday, NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt said the association is aggressively pursuing legislation on several fronts to ensure that "credit unions get real relief from burdensome rules."

"The door is opening," Hunt wrote, referring to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's recent testimony to the Senate Banking Committee that he is considering Dodd-Frank Act relief for credit unions with assets under $10 billion.

"Though not the blanket application we are pushing for all credit unions, it's a start, and we're working with Mnuchin and his staff to ensure plans translate to action," Hunt said.

She said NAFCU is pursuing a substantial list of legislative and regulatory priorities. Among them:

  • The Financial CHOICE Act.Introduced by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, this legislation contains numerous regulatory reforms NAFCU supports, including: easing mortgage rules, examining appropriate risk capital levels and ending the CFPB's de facto fair practices regulation by enforcement order (UDAAP authority).
  • Tax reform. With House and Senate committees turning to tax reform, NAFCU is reaching out to lawmakers and Treasury "to ensure that anyone tinkering with the nation's tax code recognizes the value of credit unions and their federal tax exemption," Hunt said. She said NAFCU is educating Congress about the benefits derived from credit unions' tax-exempt status and noted a new NAFCU study released in January.
  • Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As Congress continues to consider how to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, NAFCU will push for a viable, strong secondary market with a government backstop, Hunt wrote. GSE reform, she said, should ensure that credit unions have equal access to the market and fair pricing based on loan quality, not volume.