WASHINGTON-Just a little more than an hour after a Treasury official stumped for the Consumer Financial Protection Agency to a polite but negative crowd, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) drew a more enthusiastic response when he proceeded to tear down the entire concept.
"The CFPA is a dangerous path to go down for the credit union charter," Royce told the credit union faithful gathered at GAC. "Every single financial regulator has come forward to express their concern about separating consumer protection oversight from safety and soundness oversight."
Royce noted that a similar set-up for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in which the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight and Housing and Urban Development Department were essentially competing regulators, has already proven troublesome.
The potential for regulatory creep is also a dangerous and very real specter, Royce insisted. "Once it is in place, the CFPA will do what it can to increase in size, scope and power," he predicted.
Like a number of other lawmakers who addressed the GAC, Royce also called for lifting the 12.25% cap on member business loans.
