Banks and credit unions are subject to many of the same laws and regulations. But the difference is in how the bank and credit union regulators implement these laws and regulations.

The latest example of these differences was highlighted by Credit Union Times. The article looked at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently issued new civil money penalty guidance and Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) supervision procedures and then looked at what NCUA is doing.

With regard to civil money penalties, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Public Affairs Specialist John Fairbanks stated that the agency has not assessed civil money penalties for regulatory violations since Debbie Matz was named chairman of the NCUA. The only exception is for credit unions that are late in filing their call reports. Debbie Matz was named chairman of NCUA in 2009. Over that same time period, banks have been subject to numerous civil money penalties for various regulatory violations.

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