The following are National Credit Union Administration Chairman Todd M. Harper’s remarks on vendor authority, as prepared for delivery, at today’s Financial Stability Oversight Council meeting.
“Thank you, Secretary Yellen, for once again including in the annual report the recommendation that Congress pass legislation that ensures the NCUA, and other relevant agencies have adequate examination and enforcement powers to oversee third-party service providers.
“As I noted in my op-ed in the American Banker today, this is an important issue for the NCUA, as the agency does not currently have supervisory or enforcement authority over credit union vendors and service providers — authority that all other federal banking regulators have to oversee and examine the vendors that depository institutions use for critical services like information technology, loan underwriting, payments, and mortgage originations.