WASHINGTON, DC (December 16, 2015) — National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) President and CEO Dan Berger issued the following statement in response to the omnibus agreement released last night by lawmakers which addresses not just cybersecurity information sharing, but also includes a NAFCU-backed provision requiring NCUA to report to Congress on what would be appropriate capital requirements for mortgage servicing assets related to its risk-based capital rule.
“We thank lawmakers for adding provisions to this funding bill that benefit the credit union industry,” said Berger. “A special thanks to Senate Banking Chairman Richard Shelby and House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling for pushing for regulatory relief in this package. These provisions are a step in right direction for credit union regulatory relief but much more needs to be done. We look forward to working with Congress in 2016 to enact more regulatory relief for credit unions.”
NCUA would have to report to Congress within six months on what impact the agency’s final rule will likely have on credit union MSAs and their ability to compete with others in the marketplace. Other banking regulators will conduct a similar study for banks using Basel requirements.
“NAFCU and our members would also like to thank the cybersecurity conferees who made sure to include in this year-end package the NAFCU-backed S. 754, the ‘Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act,’ which would encourage faster sharing of cyber-threat information among the business and government sectors,” said Berger. “We look forward to working with Congress to also pass urgently needed national data security and breach notification standards for retailers.”
Further policy provisions in the omnibus would require CFPB committees and subcommittee meetings to be open to the public to bring greater transparency to the bureau. Another provision would help ensure the confidentiality of information shared between federal financial regulators and state regulatory agencies.
Also included in the bill is the conference report for the NAFCU-backed S. 754, the “Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act.” The bill, also known as CISA, would encourage faster sharing of cyber-threat information among the business and government sectors.
This omnibus spending package for fiscal 2016 is projected to be passed by Congress within the next week, and the president is expected to sign the bill.
The spending bill also includes language preventing an administrative effort to reform government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, thus requiring congressional action before any changes are made.
In any housing finance reform efforts, NAFCU continues to push for equal access to the market for credit unions and fair pricing based on loan quality as opposed to volume.
Congress is expected to pass another short-term government funding bill by tonight’s deadline to avoid a government shutdown and to ensure work is completed on this package.
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.
