The new fines for late call reports at NCUA and the need for CUs to not shy away from mortgages in light of the CFPB's qualified mortgage rule were among the hot topics during a joint conference call featuring NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz and CFPB Director Richard Cordray late Wednesday.
Matz said NCUA will start imposing civil penalties for late call reports starting in the next quarter, noting that the late filings postpone data analysis by NCUA and delays its legally-obligated reports to Congress.
She said that while 1,100 credit unions were late in their call reports in the fourth quarter, the FDIC had zero tardy reports from its banks for the same period.
"I'm frustrated," Matz said, suggesting that the late-filing CUs lack discipline.
She added the agency made the changes to the due date of call reports permanent to make it easier for credit unions to make the deadline, and that if there is a legitimate reason for a delay, such as a storm or an electrical outage, a fine would not be assessed.
Matz was joined on the call by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray and other CFPB executives.
Cordray said he does not want any credit unions scared out of mortgage lending by the ability-to-pay rule and reiterated that he encourages credit unions to continue to make mortgages using their traditional underwriting standards.
"If you performed well during the crisis, you are going to perform well during a more normalized atmosphere," he said.
Cordray said the CFPB has no immediate plans to issue data security guidelines in the wake of the Target and Neiman Marcus data breaches, pointing out this area of financial rule making requires complicated coordination by a variety of regulators.
During the presentation, the staff said a credit union originating a mortgage will not have to go out of its way to find out if a home loan applicant's employer is likely to go out of business soon, but it will not be allowed to ignore this infringement on ability to pay if the institution knows the business is about to shut down.
