Regulatory reform and significant changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are at the top of the must-do list for the new Congress, according to the two major credit union trade associations, both of which have released their priorities for the coming year.
Along with the obvious first priority of continuing to protect the tax exemption, both the Credit Union National Association and the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions are urging lawmakers to exempt credit unions from CFPB rulemaking, with NAFCU citing Section 1022 of the Dodd-Frank Act as the vehicle through which the bureau can make credit unions exempt.
"As presently structured, the CFPB is an anomaly in the federal government," CUNA President and CEO Jim Nussle wrote in a letter to legislators. "The CFPB's extraordinary authority is vested in a single person absent of appropriate levels of Congressional oversight. Conforming the CFPB to include a multi-member commission would enhance consumer protection by ensuring that diverse perspectives are included in final rules and prevent disruptions and market uncertainty caused by personnel changes. Ultimately, credit union members benefit from policymaking that includes more voices."
While NAFCU's wording regarding CFPB-related priorities was broad – promising to "seek greater CFPB reforms and accountability, including replacing the director with a commission" – CUNA outlined proposed changes to how the bureau is funded and suggested increasing the threshold for CFPB supervision from $10 billion to $50 billion, along with urging Congress to repeal the bureau's UDAAP authority and more.
In its letter, CUNA primarily stuck to CFPB matters – including proposals from the bureau on payday lending and arbitration – while NAFCU hit on a number of other credit union priorities, including repeal of the Durbin amendment, protecting recent changes to NCUA's field-of-membership rule, clarifying Military Lending Act requirements, national data security standards for retailers (a matter where the two groups have largely been in sync).
"For both new and returning members of Congress, it is vital they understand the unique value of credit unions — not-for-profit, member-focused financial institutions — in America's financial landscape," NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger wrote. "We welcome the opportunity to work with Congress and the Trump administration to promote a positive business environment that will allow credit unions to succeed and help our nation's economy to prosper."
