Newsroom

NAFCU's widely read NAFCU Today is credit union leaders' go-to source for the latest on issues impacting the credit union industry. For those short on time, here's a roundup of this week's top need-to-know updates and resources. 

Lawmakers question NCUA’s Vice on innovation

NCUA Director of Financial Technology and Access Charles Vice testified Tuesday before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion about the agency’s efforts to pursue regulatory innovations. Ahead of the hearing, NAFCU and CUNA highlighted positive efforts from the NCUA to support flexibility for and reduce burdens on credit unions; however, the associations continued to oppose the NCUA’s push for third-party vendor oversight, which Vice called for during his testimony.

Vice answered several questions from lawmakers regarding his office’s efforts – which was just established in January 2023 – including on its review of digital ID technology, as well as the recent ransomware attack that affected credit unions.

The latest on the ransomware attack

A ransomware attack on a credit union service provider – Ongoing Operations, a unit of Trellance Cooperative Holdings – has led to outages at roughly 60 credit unions. The attack happened Nov. 26 and Ongoing Operations said it’s an isolated incident to a segment of its network. However, the NCUA noted that the impacted credit unions are not fully operational, though they do have alternative services available to support members and ensure they can access their funds.

Ongoing Operations has not posted an update on the incident status since Dec. 2.

What can be done to support affordable housing?

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance held a hearing Wednesday to discuss government programs and market-based solutions to support affordable housing. Lawmakers flagged the rise in median home prices – even in areas with lower costs of living – and rent, and that impact on people’s ability to build wealth.

NAFCU and CUNA wrote the subcommittee ahead of the hearing to highlight how the credit union industry works to provide affordable housing finance options. The associations discussed the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) policies, housing supply, and more to help address housing affordability.

CUs meet on housing finance issues, too…

NAFCU’s Housing Finance Working Group held its fourth quarter meeting Thursday. During the meeting, NAFCU staff provided an update on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s Appraisal Subcommittee’s recent public hearing on appraisal bias and issues in rural areas. The group also discussed recent efforts from the FHFA, including its final rule to amend provisions in the Enterprise Regulatory Capital Framework and recent report indicating its intent to return the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) System to its original mission and no longer be viewed as a lender of last resort.

…and cyber and payments issues

NAFCU’s Cybersecurity and Payments Committee also met this week, during which credit unions reviewed the CFPB’s section 1033 proposed rule – related to consumers’ access of their financial information – and what their institutions would need to do to comply with the rule. The CFPB’s proposed rule related to oversight of larger fintechs in the payments space was also discussed; NAFCU has long encouraged the bureau to level the playing field between fintechs and credit unions. In addition, NAFCU staff and credit unions covered the Federal Reserve’s debit interchange proposal and how it would impact the industry and consumers, as well as regulators’ use of artificial intelligence.