WASHINGTON – President Obama proposed a plan yesterday to create a consumer advocacy agency that would field and investigate consumer complaints brought against banks and credit union, something currently overseen by NCUA, the Federal Reserve, FDIC and the other existing regulators.
The plan came under immediate scrutiny by credit union lobbyists who insisted that existing federal oversight is adequate. "I’d also like to know who is going to pay for his," said Fred Becker, president of NAFCU.
The President also proposed a minor consolidation of depository regulators, which would retain NCUA as the regulator for credit unions, apparently as an independent agency.
The plan would eliminate the Office of Thrift Supervision–a federal agency that has had more lives than a cat–and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, as well as the federal S&L and Industrial Loan Company charters.
"Our primary concern is the independence of NCUA and the Administration’s proposal appears to do nothing to affect that," said Ryan Donovan, senior lobbyist for CUNA, who said they will be pressing their case in Congress for the maintenance of NCUA as an independent agency.
The plan will now go to Congress, which has its own regulatory consolidation in mind.
