Week ahead: PPP bill in Congress and surprise NCUA meeting

Lawmakers won’t officially reconvene until after the election, but there are already indications about what legislation could be a priority for the financial services sector in the waning days of this congressional session.

House lawmakers last week introduced a bill that would allow institutions under $15 billion in assets — a figure that encompasses all but a few credit unions — from including loans made through the Paycheck Protection Program when determining total assets. Data through mid-August showed that primarily larger credit unions have been making PPP loans, and none of the CUs topping the list at that time had assets anywhere close to the proposed $15 billion cap.

The National Credit Union Administration has already proposed a rule that would permit federal credit unions to exclude PPP loans (and any future loans made through similar programs) from their total asset calculations, along with amending the period credit union use for calculating those assets. Comments to that proposal are due at the end of this week.

NCUA also announced late last week that on Wednesday the agency will hold an unplanned board meeting. As usual, the meeting will be split into an open and closed portion, with the board discussing an interagency rule on supervisory guidance during the open session and a pair of personnel matters in the closed session.

Lastly, with the general election just one week away, the much-anticipated event is having a trickle-down impact on credit unions. One Michigan credit union’s attempt to help get voters to the polls has been shot down after an 1895 rule was upheld. This is also the last full week for voters in Oklahoma to visit a community bank or credit union to notarize absentee ballots.