Credit union advocates said Monday that 46 House members have agreed to co-sponsor the Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act of 2005, which Reps. Edward R. Royce, R-Calif., and Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Pa., introduced last month.
Rep. Royce and Rep. Kanjorski had introduced a similar bill in December 2003, but the House did not pass it. Brad Thaler, the director of legislative affairs at the National Association of Federal Credit Unions, said it took seven months for that bill, which was introduced in December 2003, to attract the same number of co-sponsors.
The fact that this year’s version of the legislation had picked up so many endorsements in a little more than a month is an encouraging sign, Mr. Thaler said Monday.
“We’re pleased to see members signing on in such an expeditious fashion,” he said.
Banking groups have condemned this year’s version of the legislation, known commonly as Curia. They object to provisions that would let credit unions make more business loans while reducing the capital-to-assets ratio they would have to maintain to qualify as well-capitalized.
