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October was a busy month, with the House working to elect a new Speaker and the CFPB moving forward on several agenda items. In addition, CUNA and NAFCU members approved the merger to form America’s Credit Unions. Credit unions can find more information and answers to frequently asked questions on the merger landing page. 

In the House of Representatives, lawmakers elected Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., as Speaker of the House, bringing the chamber back to work. A priority for the coming weeks is a renewed focus on appropriations; the stopgap government funding bill that passed in September is set to expire Nov. 17.  

Additionally, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments on the constitutionality of the CFPB’s funding. The bureau also released its proposed rule for consumers’ access to financial data, as well as an advisory opinion on providing account-related information without fees. I wrote about NAFCU’s opposition to the CFPB’s regulatory approach in an op-ed for CU Insight. 

Watch NAFCU’s latest update video as NAFCU Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Greg Mesack provides need-to-know information from October. 

Meetings 

·       October 17: NAFCU hosted a members-only town hall meeting with CFPB Director Rohit Chopra to discuss fees, artificial intelligence, and the Bureau’s supervision of non-depository financial services providers, among other issues.  

Bills 

·       October 18: The Senate passed by a vote of 53-44 S.J.Res. 32, a resolution of disapproval of the CFPB’s Section 1071 small business lending data collection rule under the Congressional Review Act. NAFCU previously wrote to Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., to thank him for introducing this legislation and has also supported a companion measure in the House.

NCUA Board Nomination Hearing 

·       October 19: The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on pending nominations, including that of Tanya Otsuka to be a member of the NCUA Board. NAFCU joined with CUNA to write to the Committee about the importance of the NCUA as an independent regulator and insurer and to share the organizations’ views on key NCUA issues. 

Hearings 

·       November 2: The House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity held a hearing on legislation to improve veterans’ economic prospects. NAFCU wrote to the Subcommittee to share our support for H.R. 4867, the Veterans Members Business Loan Act, which would exempt loans made to veterans from the credit union member business lending cap. NAFCU previously met with Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, to thank him for introducing the bill along with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. 

·       November 2: The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on financial protection for servicemembers, veterans, and their families. NAFCU wrote to the Committee to share our support for S. 539, the Veterans Member Business Loan Act. NAFCU previously wrote to Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, to thank them for introducing this legislation. 

·       October 25: The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion held a hearing on the modernization of financial services. NAFCU wrote to the Subcommittee to share our thoughts on draft legislation that would establish a regulatory framework to promote responsible innovation and ensure fair competition. 

·       October 24: The Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband held a hearing on robocalls. NAFCU wrote to the Subcommittee to explain the necessity of protecting credit unions’ ability to provide important and timely information to their members through wanted communications in any effort to combat illegal robocalls and robotexts. 

·       October 17: The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development held a hearing on community development financial institutions (CDFIs). NAFCU wrote to the Subcommittee to share our thoughts on how Congress and the CDFI Fund can better assist CDFI credit unions’ efforts to serve their communities and provide affordable home mortgages.

Comment Letters 

·       October 31: NAFCU wrote to the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) in response to a request for information on cyber regulatory harmonization to explain how the ONCD can help reduce regulatory inconsistency and administrative burdens for credit unions subject to overlapping cybersecurity standards. 

·       October 27: NAFCU and other financial services trade associations sent a joint letter to the CFPB requesting that the comment period for the Section 1033 personal financial data rights proposed rule be extended to 90 days. 

·       October 27: NAFCU and CUNA wrote to the NCUA advocating for simplification of the agency’s speaker request forms and greater transparency on the status of speaker requests. 

·       October 20: NAFCU and other financial services trade associations sent a joint letter to the Federal Reserve in advance of a meeting of the Board of Governors opposing a reduction of the debit interchange fee cap. 

·       October 5: NAFCU wrote to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in response to a petition submitted to the Federal Reserve by merchant groups seeking a reduction in the debit interchange fee cap. NAFCU described how the Durbin Amendment’s exemption did not protect small credit unions and explained how credit unions use interchange fee income. 

·       October 3: NAFCU wrote to the CFPB to encourage greater transparency in the Bureau’s use of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies for supervisory purposes. The CFPB expects the institutions it regulates to fully explain any decision reached through the use of these technologies, and the Bureau should meet the same standard.

Regulatory Alerts 

·       November 2: NAFCU published a Regulatory Alert the Federal Reserve’s proposal to update the debit interchange fee cap under Regulation II. The proposal would reduce the debit interchange fee base component to 14.4 cents per transaction, reduce the ad valorem component to 4 basis points multiplied by the value of the transaction, and increase the fraud prevention to 1.3 cents per transaction. 

·       November 1: NAFCU published a Regulatory Alert on the NCUA’s proposed rule to reduce barriers to employment at a credit union for individuals with past convictions for certain minor offenses, which is a requirement of the Fair Hiring in Banking Act. NAFCU supported the Fair Hiring in Banking Act as a standalone measure and as an amendment to the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. 

·       October 30: NAFCU published a Regulatory Alert summarizing the CFPB’s personal financial data rights proposed rule, which is a requirement of Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The proposal would require credit unions and other covered entities to provide consumers, and third parties with consumer authorization, information about their financial accounts and transactions in a usable format. NAFCU previously commented on the CFPB’s outline of proposals for this rulemaking’s small business review panel, in addition to submitting joint comments on the outline with other trade associations. 

·       October 30: NAFCU published a Regulatory Alert on the NCUA’s proposed rule to simplify share insurance rules for trust accounts and mortgage servicing accounts, as well as increasing flexibility for recordkeeping requirements. Under the proposal, credit unions would no longer need to distinguish between revocable and irrevocable trusts, and all trust accounts from the same grantor would be insured up to $250,000 per beneficiary for up to five beneficiaries.