National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) Regulatory Affairs Counsel Kaley Schafer today sent a letter in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) request for information (RFI) on inherited regulations. The Bureau's inherited regulations are those rulemaking authorities transferred to the Bureau from other federal agencies by the Dodd-Frank Act.
"NAFCU has previously commented on several of these inherited regulations and urges the Bureau to look at the impact of its rulemakings on federally-insured credit unions. NAFCU specifically urges the Bureau to review and eliminate outdated requirements and those that are unduly burdensome," said Schafer. "NAFCU believes that the Bureau should have taken into account industry testimony and the consumer-friendly nature of credit unions when they prescribed the rules implementing the inherited regulations."
She also noted that the missed opportunities by the Bureau to better tailor regulations or completely exempt credit unions from its rulemakings have "subjected them to a host of unnecessary regulations intended to deter bad actors" and forced many to stop operating because of high compliance costs.
Specifically, in order to reduce credit unions' regulatory burden, Schafer recommended that the bureau:
- Maintain the alternative delivery method and increase the notification period for revised annual notices required under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act;
- Provide clear guidance on when an approved applicant may be provided with their consumer report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act;
- Exclude credit unions from debt collection rulemakings under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act;
- Issue guidance on how disaggregated data will be compiled and reported to comply with Regulation C of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act;
- Review Appendix A to Part 1008 of the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act for clarity on the definition of "mortgage originator" and "takes a loan application";
- Not curtail credit unions' overdraft programs with a rulemaking under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act;
- Change the frequency of required credit card agreement posting to the bureau under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA); and
- Provide an exemption from escrow requirements under TILA for high-priced mortgage loans where the borrower does not own the land.
For full text of the letter, click here.