Newsroom

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington (Feb. 3, 2017) - National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) President and CEO Dan Berger today issued a statement regardingPresident Donald Trump's actions to implement major review of the Dodd-Frank Act and delay the Labor Department's fiduciary rule.

"We welcome regulators taking a hard look at the Dodd-Frank Act for ways to lift current burdens, but we will also continue to press the CFPB to use the authority it has now to exempt credit unions from regulations that were created to address abuses in which credit unions did not engage," said Berger. "Ultimately, we look forward to the administration, Congress and the regulators working together to reduce regulatory burden. We will continue to advocate for credit unions' best interests as this review moves forward."

NAFCU has reached out to the Trump administration, regulators and Congress seeking an easing in credit unions' regulatory burden under the Dodd-Frank Act, which was created to address the abusive practices that gave rise to the financial crisis. Those in Congress and the regulatory agencies have agreed that credit unions were not the cause of the crisis.

Today's executive orders direct the Treasury secretary to meet with members of the Financial Stability Oversight Council on ways to ease regulatory burden under the Dodd-Frank Act and to delay the Labor Department's fiduciary rule. The other launches a dialogue among top regulators on ways to ease Dodd-Frank rules that hinder lending and business creation.

NAFCU stood as the only financial industry trade association to oppose placing credit unions under CFPB authority as the Dodd-Frank Act was being written. The association is also pushing for repeal of the Durbin amendment on debit interchange.

The Treasury secretary, to comply with today's order, must discuss potential Dodd-Frank Act reforms with the members of the FSOC, which he leads. Council members include the heads of the Federal Reserve, NCUA, CFPB, Federal Housing Finance Agency, FDIC, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Any recommendations for specific Dodd-Frank Act changes would require congressional action.

The current regulatory environment has been stifling the credit union industry. Approximately 20 percent of the industry has been lost since the second quarter of 2010, when Dodd-Frank was implemented — an average of one credit union merges or closes every single day. Today, there are only 5,844 federally-insured credit unions.

The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions is the only national trade association focusing exclusively on federal issues affecting the nation's federally-insured credit unions. NAFCU membership is direct and provides credit unions with the best in federal advocacy, education and compliance assistance. For more information on NAFCU, go towww.nafcu.orgor@NAFCUon Twitter.

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Patty Briotta
Director of Public Relations
Office:703-842-2820
pbriotta@nafcu.org