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This week: NCUA Board meets for cybersecurity briefings, Congress still in recess
The NCUA Board will meet this Thursday to receive briefings on cybersecurity updates and the NCUA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program. The meeting, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern, will be available via livestream on the agency’s website.
View the full agenda. NAFCU will monitor next week's meeting and update credit unions on the latest from the NCUA.
Senate and House lawmakers remain in their home states and districts this week after several busy weeks in office. The House Financial Services Committee will convene two hearings when Congress returns to Washington, the “Consumers First: Semi-Annual Report of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau” on April 27 and “Oversight of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network” on April 28.
Last week, Democrat and Republican state Attorneys General (AG) weighed in on the CFPB’s request for information (RFI) regarding fees on consumer financial products and services, or "junk fees." Democrat AGs focused their comments on conveniences fees, arguing against allowing consumers the option of paying a convenience fee to have their payment applied immediately, contending that the choice to do so is "illusory." NAFCUrecently submitted a joint trades amicus brief in the Thomas-Lawson case where the CFPB argued that a convenience fee charged by a mortgage servicer may violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
Republican AGs centered their comments on the states’ authorities to regulate a variety of fees and the Bureau’s limited rulemaking authority in this space.
Of note, NAFCU submitted comments to the Bureau sharing that while the association is generally supportive of the CFPB improving consumers’ understanding of financial products and services, its mischaracterization of fees in the financial services as “junk fees,” “excessive or exploitative fees,” or “inflated or surprise fees,” only confuses and frustrates consumers.