Law and regulation

It remains unclear how Mark McWatters's departure will impact the credit union regulator, and there is growing evidence that the country could face a "double-dip recession."

The former chairman recently butted heads with colleagues over the agency’s budget plans, and the Senate is expected to vote to confirm a successor early next month.

The credit union regulator's November board meeting covered a variety of issues, including the voluntary self-assessment, disagreements on the budget proposal and the possibility of new insurance premiums in 2021.

Credit unions will have their first opportunity to hear from the federal regulator about its recently released budget proposal and also get an update on the agency's diversity self-assessment.

The group includes many advocates for stricter bank regulation from the Obama administration; the president-elect may have as many as three open seats on the central bank or as few as none.

The chairman of the National Credit Union Administration said during his limited time in a Senate Banking Committee hearing that he hoped changes to the agency's Central Liquidity Facility would last for the duration of the pandemic.

The industry is calling for lawmakers to extend changes to NCUA's Central Liquidity Facility and more before Congress adjourns.

Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler and KeyBank NA executive Don Graves have been tapped to examine financial regulators as part of Joe Biden’s presidential transition, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The bank disclosed in a regulatory filing that it is in the process of responding to a civil subpoena from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It is the latest bank to come under regulatory scrutiny for the fees charged to consumers who overdraw their accounts.

As lawmakers look for ways to plug budget gaps, credit union groups are preparing for a possible assault on the industry's tax exemption at the state and federal level.