ALEXANDRIA, Va. — NCUA chairman Debbie Matz has informed CUNA and NAFCU that the comment period for the agency's risk-based capital proposal will not be extended, the trade associations report.
Late last month, CUNA and NAFCU,
CUNA President Bill Cheney and NAFCU President Dan Berger stated in their letter that many credit unions are "reeling" from responsibilities around implementing a variety of major new rules, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's mortgage and international remittance transfer rules.
"We urge the agency to be mindful of those obligations as it considers this request," the leaders wrote.
CUNA and NAFCU argued that the extension would "ensure that comments and recommendations regarding the proposal reflect careful and thorough consideration without the pressures of time that will limit credit unions' analyses and the development of their comment letters."
The extra time would also allow NCUA to include into the rule review feedback from this summer's NCUA Listening Sessions, which are scheduled to occur after the current comment period ends.
In the March 5 letter to CUNA, Matz wrote that credit unions effectively will have a total of 120 days to comment because the proposal's publication was delayed in the Federal Register. The comment period begins from the date of publication.
"We are disappointed that credit unions won't have more time to comment on NCUA's proposal," said Carrie Hunt, NAFCU's SVP of government affairs and general counsel. "This is an extremely important and weighty issue and we think there needs to be more time for evaluation so well-thought-out comments can be given to the agency."
In addition to declining to extend the comment period, Matz also assured that key changes to the agency's risk-based capital proposal are not out of the question prior to the rule becoming final.
In her letter, Matz pointed out that NCUA incorporated "significant changes to our final rules on troubled debt restructurings, loan participations and derivatives... I assure you NCUA will do so, as appropriate, on this critically important rule."
She also indicated that the capital proposal is the "last significant safety and soundness" rulemaking she intends to initiate at the agency. Matz's term ends April 10, 2015.
