WASHINGTON — A bill introduced by Republican Sen. Dan Coats could reduce some of the regulatory burden on the backs of financial institutions below $10 billion in assets.
The Indiana senator's proposed legislation would modify how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau requests information from financial institutions below $10 billion, reported CUNA.
The CFPB would be required to use publicly available information or seek the requested information from existing financial regulators.
The bill also permits the primary regulator for credit unions or banks to deny CFPB information requests, according to a report on CUNA News Now. The national trade group and the Indiana Credit Union League support the legislation.
While introducing his bill, Coats recognized that CUs and community banks are not at fault for the economic problems that have led to the growing regulatory burden on all financial institutions.
He noted that CUs and community banks "did not cause the financial crisis, but they are being treated as if they did by federal bureaucrats."
John McKenzie, president of the Indiana Credit Union League, described the bill as "a good first step to bringing a measure of relief from some of the burdens created for credit unions and community banks by the Dodd-Frank and its creation of the CFPB," according to CUNA.
He added that CUs face "crushing regulatory burdens" in the post-Dodd Frank world.
