Credit union CEO to tell of ‘crisis of creeping complexity ‘ during House reg relief hearing

The Credit Union National Association will testify on various regulatory relief matters today at a House Financial Services Committee hearing titled “Examining Regulatory Relief Proposals for Community Financial Institutions.” The hearing will feature discussion of nine bills and testimony from six individuals.

Doug Fecher, president/CEO of $2.8 billion-asset Wright-Patt CU, Beavercreek, Ohio, will testify on behalf of CUNA.

“Credit unions face a crisis of creeping complexity with respect to regulatory burden.  It is not just one new law or revised regulation that challenges credit unions, but the cumulative effect of all regulatory changes,” he said. “The frequency with which new and revised regulations have been promulgated in recent years and the complexity of these requirements is staggering.”

CUNA has estimated credit unions have been subjected to more than 180 regulatory changes since 2008.

“When a regulation is changed, there are certain upfront costs that must be incurred no matter the size of the institution: staff time and credit union resources must be applied in determining what is necessary in order to comply with the change; forms and disclosures must be changed; data processing systems must be reprogrammed; and staff must be retrained,” Fecher said.

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