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NAFCU praises Senate passage of highway bill with reg relief measures

WASHINGTON, DC (December 4, 2015) — National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) President and CEO Dan Berger issued the following statement applauding Senate passage tonight of the transportation authorization bill, which includes NAFCU-sought privacy notice and some qualified-mortgage relief for credit unions. The measure now awaits the president’s signature.

“We thank the members of the House and Senate for taking these steps to provide regulatory relief in the final legislation and look forward to the president signing this bill and making these regulatory relief measures a reality for credit unions,” said Berger.

The package includes a NAFCU-backed amendment by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Hensarling, R-Texas, that contains the text of H.R. 601, the “Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act.” The bill would clarify that consumers will receive privacy notices after opening a new account and when their providers’ privacy policies change. This would be a change from the current requirement for annual notices and addresses a part of NAFCU’s five-point plan for regulatory relief.

Also in this package is the NAFCU-backed H.R. 1259, the “Helping Expand Lending Practices in Rural Communities Act.” This bill would be helpful to credit unions as they deal with CFPB’s definition of “rural area,” particularly as it relates to the ability-to-repay mortgage rule.

The measure also:

gives authority for privately insured credit unions to become a member of a Federal Home Loan Bank and requires a Government Accountability Office report that looks at private insurance;
authorizes FDIC to do 18-month exam cycles for well-run community banks, something NAFCU is encouraging NCUA to implement for low-risk credit unions; and
removes a provision calling for the use of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac credit-risk guarantee fees, or g-fees, for highway funding.

About NAFCU

The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions is the only national trade association focusing exclusively on federal issues affecting the nation’s federally-insured credit unions. NAFCU membership is direct and provides credit unions with the best in federal advocacy, education and compliance assistance. For more information on NAFCU, go to www.nafcu.org or @NAFCU on Twitter.