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NAFCU: Bipartisan Majority of House Members, led by King and Meeks, set to send NCUA ‘serious concerns’ on risk-based capital
WASHINGTON, DC (May 13, 2014) — The National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) today hailed the efforts of Reps. Peter King, R-N.Y., and Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., that have led to a remarkable bipartisan majority, over 320 members of the House of Representatives, to sign a letter to NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz expressing concerns about the agency’s risk-based capital proposal, urging an extension of the comment period and requesting a delay in implementation should any rule be adopted.
“We appreciate the leadership shown by Representatives King and Meeks, and their colleagues from both sides of the aisle, in expressing their concerns about NCUA’s seriously flawed risk-based capital proposal,” said NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger. “The numbers speak volumes as to how invested Congress is in this issue. NCUA needs to get this right for all credit unions across the country.
“Credit unions’ regulatory burden is growing quickly enough without the added burden posed by this harmful capital proposal. Enough is enough. We need NCUA to take a breath, heed legislators’ concerns and work in a transparent and collaborative nature going forward.”
In their letter, lawmakers ask Matz to consider the cost and burden for credit unions of new risk-based capital requirements beyond the current leverage ratio and how they might affect mortgage and small-business credit availability. They also request “justification and more clarity” about why the proposed risk weights are different than the standards in place for other community financial institutions. Lawmakers are asking that credit unions have more time to comment for the record and more time to comply with the rule if it is adopted.
The deadline for comment letters to NCUA on the risk-based capital proposal is May 28.
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The National Association of Federal Credit Unions is the only national organization that focuses exclusively on federal issues affecting credit unions, representing its members before the federal government and the public.