ARLINGTON, VA (January 24, 2014) -- The National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS) submitted comments in response to the National Credit Union Administration’s (NCUA’s) proposed changes to NCUA Rules and Regulations Part 701, which would require examinations and other contacts between NCUA staff and staff or officials of a federal credit union (FCU) to occur in an FCU commercial office or other public location.
Generally, NASCUS does not comment on matters between NCUA and its federal charters; however, NCUA specifically sought comment on whether to include state charters under one provision of the rule. In the Jan. 23 letter to NCUA, NASCUS agreed that a regulatory agency has reasonable discretion to determine the conditions of its examination process, but noted that NCUA should coordinate with the primary state regulator when dealing with federally-insured state-chartered credit unions (FISCUs). NASCUS noted that in particular, some state regulators have expressed concerns about the selection of an appropriate alternate public location for an NCUA examination of a home-based FISCU. Those concerns included the transporting and handling of credit union records and the cost involved in securing a designated off-site location for examinations to take place.
Just as NCUA is concerned about examiner safety, so too are NASCUS and state regulators. “Ideally, NCUA will be able to work with the state regulators on a case-by-case basis to achieve a mutually acceptable resolution to examiner safety concerns,” said NASCUS President and CEO Mary Martha Fortney.
NCUA’s acknowledgment in the proposed rule preamble that the decision to permit the ongoing existence of home-based FISCUs is the prerogative of the state regulator was praised by NASCUS in its comments. Click here to read NASCUS’ comment letter in its entirety.
About NASCUS
The National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS) is the primary resource and voice of the state governmental agencies that charter, regulate and examine the nation’s state-chartered credit unions. NASCUS membership is made up of state-chartered credit unions, state regulators and other supporters of the state credit union system. NASCUS is the only organization dedicated to the defense and promotion of the state credit union charter and the autonomy of state credit union regulatory agencies. To learn more about NASCUS, visitwww.nascus.org.