Hearings About to Begin For NCUA Board Nominee
WASHINGTON-The Senate Banking Committee said it will hold a confirmation hearing on June 27 for NCUA Board nominee Rick Metsger to fill out the three-person panel. Metsger is expected to be paired with Mel Watt, a Democratic Congressman from North Carolina who has been nominated by President Obama to be the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Metsger is a former Democratic state senator from Oregon who is well known in Portland from the 15 years he spent as a sports and news reporter for KOIN television. Another vacancy is about to open on the NCUA Board, as Republican Michael Fryzel's six-year term is scheduled to expire in August.
Reg Relief Bill Is Absent MBL, Supp Capital Provisions
WASHINGTON-A regulatory relief bill for credit unions to be introduced in the House any day may be significant for what it does not have include-the long-sought increase in the member business loan cap and a provision allowing supplementary capital.
Lobbyists working with Rep. Gary Miller, the California Republican drafting the bill, say Miller wants to avoid the most controversial issues in order to get a bill introduced that has a good prospect of reaching final passage. They also note that both the MBL and supplementary provisions have been introduced in other bills now pending in the House.
The Miller bill, expected to be introduced as soon as this week, would create a risk-based capital system for credit unions; introduce a "reverse wild-card" system for NCUA, allowing the federal credit union regulator to adopt state regulations if more lenient; require NCUA and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to do a "look-back" cost basis analysis before passing new regulations; and expand permissible investments for credit unions, allowing them to offer Interest on lawyer trust accounts, among other provisions.
Visa Seeks To Save Settlement
NEW YORK-Seeking to salvage its landmark antitrust settlement, Visa has filed suit in federal court here seeking a declaratory judgment that would prevent Walmart from bringing price-fixing claims over merchant credit card fees. The retail giant has been fighting Visa and MasterCard for a decade over swipe fees and is among more than 7,000 retailers that have dropped out of the $7.2-billion antitrust settlement with the card networks over fees. In the latest legal salvo, Visa said it wants to prevent "the continuation of endless, wasteful litigation between the parties."
The battle impacts CUs two ways: as shareholders in both Visa and MasterCard whose shares have been used to finance the networks' settlement funds; and because any diminution of profits by the card networks trickle down to Visa's and MasterCard's credit union and bank partners, mostly through higher fees.
Webinar On Compliance Tool
BALTIMORE-Continuous Compliance and Horsetail Technologies will be hosting a seminar to introduce credit unions to the new AIRESLive solution, a compliance management platform, on Friday July 12 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. EDT. For info: www.horsetailtech.com/?post_type=news&p=1081.
Trust Names Marshall As Leader
MADISON, Wis.-The Cooperative Trust and Filene Research Institute announced last week that James Marshall has joined the Trust as its leader. Marshall succeeds Brent Dixon, who founded the Trust, originally known as the Crash Network, in 2010. Marshall will work with Filene to sharpen the Trust's role in helping CUs grow membership among young adults. Marshall said the goal is to build the trust into a self-sustaining organization. James was previously Marketing Manager at Plane Saver Credit Union in London.
