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 in it the long-sought increase in the member business loan cap and a provision allowing supplementary capital as what it includes.
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 goal in this process is to get a bill that can move this year and have a chance of moving forward,” Brad Thaler, senior lobbyist for NAFCU, told Credit Union Journal this weekend.
John Magill, chief lobbyist for CUNA, acknowledged Miller’s effort to avoid the controversy that has allowed the bankers to defeat the MBL and supplementary capital efforts for the past decade. Magill said CUNA will continue to lobby for the MBL and capital provisions in the other bills already introduced. He also expressed confidence that other bills will be introduced that will serve as a vehicle for the long-sought credit union priorities.
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 credit unions to offer Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts, among other provisions.
Miller is said to be searching for a Democrat co-sponsor of his bill to attract critical bipartisan support to the credit union effort, which eventually is expected to be combined with a regulatory relief bill for banks. “Ultimately,” said NAFCU’s Thaler, “we expect it to be rolled into some larger reg relief package.”
