Reducing regulatory burdens on federally insured credit unions remains a top priority, and America’s Credit Unions provided detailed comments in response to the NCUA’s request for comment on that topic as part of the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act (EGRPRA).
Every 10 years, the EGRPRA requires the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council and federal bank regulatory agencies to review their regulations. While the statute does not apply to the NCUA, the agency is participating in the regulatory review.
In the letter, Regulatory Advocacy Senior Counsel Luke Martone called for updates to various regulations to better align with current practices and market conditions. He provided specific requests urging the NCUA to:
- update the definition of service area and service facility to better reflect the increased use of online banking;
- approve its proposed rule regarding the time a member must cure an overdrafted account by removing “the prescriptive 45-day limit and replace it with a requirement that the written policy establish a specific time limit that is both ‘reasonable and applicable to all members;’”
- define Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as government agencies, considering the enterprises are under conservatorship of the federal government;
- adopt a floating interest rate ceiling and raise the member business loan cap;
- improve member expulsion authority under the Credit Union Governance Modernization Act (CUGMA), passed in 2022; and
- broaden the charities that credit unions can donate to by amending the definition of “qualified charity.”
America’s Credit Unions continues working with lawmakers and regulators to ensure credit unions have the best environment to serve their members.
