WASHINGTON The National Association of State CU Supervisors on Wednesday joined CUNA in lobbying Congress for a seat on the NCUA Board.
NASCUS submitted testimony in yesterday’s congressional hearing on regulatory relief for credit unions endorsing an expansion of the three-person NCUA Board to five members, with one of the additional seats reserved for a representative of state regulators. “We believe that comprehensive experience in regulating state chartered credit unions would provide a balanced perspective when overseeing the [National CU Share Insurance Fund],” wrote NASCUS in testimony submitted to the House Financial Services Committee.
NASCUS followed CUNA, which the day before had called for the expansion of the NCUA Board, with a seat for state regulators.
State regulators and their lobby group have been seeking more influence for many years at NCUA, which not only regulates federally chartered credit unions, but also 2,500 state charters that come under NCUA powers because they are insured by the NCUSIF. The issue also has been a sore spot for state chartered credit unions.
The new push for a seat on the NCUA Board for state regulators comes as one of the three board seats are vacant, with another to be vacant in August, leaving the specter of having one sitting NCUA Board member for what could be months.
Fred Becker, president of the National Association of Federal CUs, questioned the necessity of the changes. “I’m wondering what problems we need to solve,” said Becker, who pointed out that current Board Member Michael Fryzel and his top aide Sarah Vega both are former state regulators from Illinois, and Vega once was chairman of NASCUS.
Becker also noted that the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray, has a seat on the five-person FDIC Board and wondered if that could result from an expansion of the NCUA Board.
