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NAFCU Letter to Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi Urging Support of H.R. 2572

June 28, 2013

The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Re:      Support H.R. 2572, the Regulatory Relief for Credit Unions Act of 2013

Dear Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi:

I am writing on behalf of the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU), the only trade association that exclusively represents the interests of our nation’s federal credit unions, to urge you and your colleagues to support legislation introduced by Representative Gary Miller —H.R. 2572, the Regulatory Relief for Credit Unions Act of 2013. This legislation improves the ability of credit unions to serve their members by providing needed relief from an increasing regulatory burden and enhances their ability to react to market conditions and meet the demands of their 96 million members.

This legislation reflects key provisions shared with Congress on February 12th of this year as part of NAFCU’s five-point plan for credit union regulatory relief.  As introduced, the bill would:

  • establish a risk-based capital system for credit unions;
  • allow the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) to grant federal credit unions a waiver to follow a state rule instead of a federal one in certain situations;
  • authorize the NCUA to step in where appropriate to modify or delay application of a CFPB rule affecting credit unions as long as the goal of the rule is still met (parity is also given for community banks and their regulator in this regard);
  • require that the NCUA and the CFPB revisit cost/benefit analyses of rules after three years so they have a true sense of the compliance costs for credit unions (parity is also given for community banks in this regard);
  • require the NCUA to conduct a study of the Central Liquidity Facility and make legislative recommendations for its modernization;
  • give credit unions better control over their investment decisions and portfolio risk; and
  • provide credit unions parity with FDIC-insured institutions when it comes to deposit insurance coverage on Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTAs).

Credit unions are not-for-profit cooperatives that are member owned and managed. Credit Unions did not engage in the risky lending practices that led to the financial crisis, yet they are struggling under the tidal wave of new regulations that have emerged from the crisis. They need regulatory relief. That is why H.R. 2572, the Regulatory Relief for Credit Unions Act of 2013 is needed today.

We urge you and your colleagues in the House to support regulatory relief for credit unions and co-sponsor H.R. 2572 today. Thank you for your consideration and should you have any questions or require any additional information please contact me or Brad Thaler, NAFCU’s Vice President of Legislative Affairs, at 703-842-2204 or bthaler@nafcu.org

Sincerely,

B. Dan Berger

Executive Vice President, Government Affairs

cc:        Members of the House of Representatives

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