Key Lawmaker Sees Piecemeal Passage of CURIA

WASHINGTON – An influential House member told credit union leaders yesterday there is no chance for passage of their regulatory relief bill in this Congress, but lawmakers may agree to pass some of the provisions in CURIA separately. Among the provisions Congress might consider are those creating a risk-based capital system for credit unions and easing restrictions on member business lending, Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, told about 400 attendees of NAFCU’s Congressional Caucus yesterday. Frank promised the credit union executives a hearing on CURIA before his committee, but said even if the bill were to get through the panel, Congress is focused on so many other issues CURIA would have long odds against it. “I do not see any significant chance whatsoever that CURIA, as it stands, will pass both the House and the Senate in its entirety,” Frank said. “There is a chance that we could pass some significant pieces of it.” The Financial Services Chairman also said he plans to review an expansion of the Community Reinvestment Act and will include credit unions in that review. Frank, a major supporter of CRA, noted that credit unions in Massachusetts have been operating under CRA for years.