NCUA General Counsel Robert Fenner has asked Congress to include the agency's proposal to enact a risk-based capital system for credit unions, which was carefully excluded from a regulatory relief bill introduced last month.
Fenner, testifying before a House Financial Services subcommittee, said the agency's current system of minimum capital, known as Prompt Corrective Action, is too inflexible and asked the lawmakers to consider including the risk-based system in the Reg Relief bill. Fenner, who was testifying with representatives of other financial regulators, also said NCUA supports proposals to allow federal credit unions to provide limited services to non-members within their fields of membership; and to clarify the definition of net worth for credit unions to allow credit unions to continue to combine their capital after merging, something a new accounting rule will prohibit.
House leaders hope to pass the Reg Relief bill over the next few weeks, but the bill is dead for the year because the Senate has indicated it will not act on its version of Reg Relief until next year.
