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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.

CUs secure strong win with House NDAA legislation

Yesterday, the House Armed Services Committee approved its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which excluded language that would threaten the statuses of credit union leases on military bases. The Committee-approved bill also maintained not allowing  banks rent-free access to military installations.

The association consistently advocates against this bank-sought provision in the NDAA and has successfully kept it from being included in the final legislation in the past. NAFCU will continue to advocate for credit unions and their 125 million members as the NDAA moves through the process and report on any breaking developments.

FDIC issues guide for community banks working with fintechs

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) last week issued a guide for community banks on conducting due diligence when working with fintechs. Although not applicable or binding to credit unions, this may serve as useful guidance to smaller and medium sized credit unions. In addition, this guidance may also inform NCUA on its efforts in this area.

NAFCU and our member credit unions continue to discuss concerns with lawmakers regarding underregulated fintechs, calling for a level playing field to ensure fintech companies are subject to the same regulatory requirements as credit unions.

Also, a CU employee pleads guilty for deleting data

An undisclosed New York credit union fired an employee who was said to have remotely accessed their database systems and delete a significant amount of data - including mortgage loan applications, the credit union’s anti-ransomware protection software and more. The Brooklyn woman was able to delete over 20,000 files and nearly 3,500 directories over the span of 40 minutes. The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed criminal charges and the former employee pled guilty Tuesday.

Bank headquartered in Atlanta faces alleged redlining lawsuit

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced they filed a lawsuit against a bank headquartered in Atlanta for alleged redlining in the Houston area. DOJ and OCC claim that the bank violated the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

Allegations were made that that the bank located and maintained nearly all its branches and loan officers in majority-white neighborhoods, concentrating its marketing efforts in said neighborhoods while avoiding majority-Black and Hispanic areas. The bank also allegedly did not place a branch into a majority-Black and Hispanic area until 2018, six years after entering the Houston market and after the OCC began a fair lending exam of the bank (this fair lending exam resulted in a referral to the DOJ that led to this compliant.) View the full complaint.

CFPB Payday Lending Rule upheld in Texas court

A federal district court in Texas Tuesday upheld the CFPB’s payday lending rule which will go into effect June 12, 2022. The CFPB argued for only a 30 day period for the rule to go into effect. The case touched on CFPB constitutionality and held that parties “should have the full benefit of the temporary stay” of the effective date the court has previously entered. View a breakdown of the case.

And finally: NCUA issues 4 prohibition notices in August 

The NCUA in August issued four prohibition notices, prohibiting individuals previously associated with credit unions from any future participation in the affairs of a federally-insured financial institution.

Violation of a prohibition order is a felony offense punishable by imprisonment and a fine of up to $1 million. Details from last month's prohibition notices follow:

• Veronica Mauga, a former employee of Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union, Honolulu, Hawaii, agreed and consented to the issuance of a prohibition order and agreed to comply with all its terms to settle and resolve the NCUA Board’s claim against her.
• Gabriela Bibriesca, a former employee of Santa Cruz Community Credit Union, Santa Cruz, California, agreed and consented to the issuance of a prohibition order and agreed to comply with all its terms to settle and resolve the NCUA Board’s claim against him.
• Cristal Santiago, a former employee of North Jersey Federal Credit Union, Totowa, New Jersey, agreed and consented to the issuance of a prohibition order and agreed to comply with all its terms to settle and resolve the NCUA Board’s claim against her.
• Clarissa Johnson, a former employee of Northland Area Federal Credit Union, West Branch, Michigan, agreed and consented to the issuance of a prohibition order and agreed to comply with all its terms to settle and resolve the NCUA Board’s claim against her.