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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington (March 21, 2017) – Keith Stone, president and CEO of The Finest Federal Credit Union (New York, N.Y.), willtestifytoday on behalf of the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit on the challenges faced by newly chartered credit unions.

Today, Stone's testimony will cover the regulatory burden credit unions, particularly newly chartered ones, often face. He will advocate for modernization of the Federal Credit Union Act(FCUA), including its provisions on governance, and will urge Congress to encourage regulators to provide relief where they can under current law.

Stone is testifying before the subcommittee in today's hearing, "Ending the De Novo Drought: Examining the Application Process for De Novo Financial Institutions," which begins at 2 p.m. Eastern.

In his testimony, Stone discusses the hardships new credit unions face and the increased regulatory burden that deters their chartering. "Starting a new credit union is essentially an altruistic endeavor, as there is no ultimate financial incentive for those who are successful," Stone says in his prepared testimony. "Furthermore, the complex chartering process may seem relatively easy and straightforward when compared to what a de novo credit union will face once it is chartered and operating.The industry has seen a significant decline in the pace of de novo credit unions post Dodd-Frank enactment."

In his testimony, Stone details his own experiences at his credit union and the numerous challenges it has faced since its chartering. "The costs of running day-to-day operations and keeping up with the ever-changing post Dodd-Frank regulatory environment consume significant resources," he says.

Stone also addresses measures needed to improve the chartering process for credit unions. "One way that Congress could enable more flexibility is by passing the Capital Access for Small Businesses and Jobs Act, H.R. 1244, which would authorize all credit unions to issue supplemental capital so long as it does not alter the cooperative ownership structure of credit unions," he says. "NAFCU urges Congress to pass this legislation as it would better enable credit unions to meet capital requirements."

In addition, he says the NCUA should pursue modernization of the outdated governance provisions in the Federal Credit Union Act as well as the agency's own rules and regulations, "including taking steps to reform its standard credit union bylaws.In essence, we would encourage NCUA to think outside the box when it comes to new credit union charters, and we stand ready to work with them on those efforts."

To ease regulatory burden for credit unions, Stone reiterates NAFCU's support for the comprehensive regulatory relief for community institutions such as that provided in the Financial CHOICE Actof the previous Congress. He also advocates fully exempting all credit unions from CFPB authority.

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 @NAFCU on Twitter.

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