Newsroom
January 11, 2022
NAFCU details key industry priorities for Congress, regulators
As NAFCU moves forward with its 2022 advocacy priorities, NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger Monday sent several key federal agencies and administration officials an outline of the priorities and issues the association and credit unions will be focused on throughout the year. Berger also detailed the five priorities for congressional leadership and members of the House and Senate.
Here's a look at some of the issues Berger identified for each agency:
- CFPB: As one of NAFCU's top five priorities is the creation of a fair market that ensures fintechs and other non-regulated entities engaged in financial services follow the same rules of the road as financial institutions, Berger highlighted in the letter to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra that the bureau's oversight of these companies will assist in this goal and fulfill several of the CFPB's own strategic goals.
- NCUA: In the letter to NCUA Chairman Todd Harper, Vice Chairman Kyle Hauptman, and Board Member Rodney Hood, Berger said the association will continue to support revising outdated provisions within the Federal Credit Union (FCU) Act that create structural barriers to growth and will encourage the NCUA to foster strong fintech partnerships.
- Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA): In the letter to FHFA Acting Director Sandra Thompson, Berger called for regulatory relief, which includes reforming the housing finance system with mortgage lending and servicing policies that support borrowers and community institutions.
- Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Berger, in the letter to HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, highlighted NAFCU's call for expanding access to credit for all Americans while ensuring fair lending requirements account for technological advances.
- Federal Reserve: In the letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, Berger highlighted continued efforts to oppose the expansion of interchange caps or other payment restrictions on credit unions. In addition, Berger offered support for the adoption of fast, real-time payments implementation to meet changing member expectations and competitive demands.
- Treasury Department: In the letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Berger reiterated his previous call for Treasury Department coordination with the President's Working Group on Financial Markets to ensure the inclusion of credit unions in any recommendations regarding stablecoins.
- Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN): In the letter to FinCEN Acting Director Him Das, Berger reiterated the association's support for innovation that allows credit unions to continue to serve their members and thanked FinCEN for its continued work to implement the Corporate Transparency Act and the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020.
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC): In the letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, Berger noted a continued support for the FCC's goal of combating illegal robocalls and protecting consumers, while urging the FCC to adopt appropriate notification and redress mechanisms for call blocking and modernize the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to ensure legitimate callers can contact consumers with important information.
Stay tuned to NAFCU Today as the association continues to fight for regulatory relief for the credit union industry.