NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger noted the association’s support for the draft language of the Financial CHOICE Act, including its elimination of the Durbin interchange price cap, in a letter yesterday to leaders of the House Financial Services Committee ahead of today’s hearing on the subject.

“Many elements of the discussion draft will help create an environment that will allow credit unions to succeed,” Berger wrote to the draft’s author and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, and committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters, D-Calif. “Changes to mortgage rules; changes to HMDA limits; and examining appropriate risk capital levels are key parts of the bill.”

Berger specifically pointed to the elimination of the Durbin amendment in the draft language, counting it “among the most significant aspects of this discussion draft for credit unions,” and he urged that it remain intact throughout the legislative process.

He wrote that NAFCU supports a commission structure for the CFPB. Berger added that NAFCU was the only financial services trade association to oppose the CFPB having authority over credit unions. He noted that since the second quarter of 2010, the industry has lost 1,660 federally-insured credit unions – more than 22 percent of the industry.

 

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