National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) President and CEO Dan Berger issued the following statement in response to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board’s vote on the continuation of the 18 percent federal credit union loan interest rate ceiling and quarterly report on the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund during its open board meeting. Today’s board meeting is the first led by Acting Chairman J. Mark McWatters.
“We appreciate the leadership shown by NCUA Acting Board Chairman J. Mark McWatters and Board Member Rick Metsger in making the prudent decision to maintain the current 18 percent usury ceiling, and we thank them for heeding our concerns on this critical issue,” said Berger. “We also appreciate their recognition of the need for greater flexibility in this area.”
NAFCU has urged the board to maintain the current 18 percent usury ceiling after March 10, the end of the 18-month period covered by the board’s last action in this area. NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger warned that allowing a drop back to 15 percent would be “detrimental to the safety and soundness of credit unions.”
The Federal Credit Union Act sets a cap of 15 percent but permits NCUA’s board to make adjustments based on criteria related to trends in market rates.
The board also received a quarterly report on the NCUSIF. NCUA staff in November estimated a potential premium charge in 2017 of 3 to 6 basis points.
NAFCU is monitoring the financials for the NCUSIF and pushing the NCUA to only charge a premium if legally necessary. The law only requires that the agency charge a premium if the NCUSIF equity ratio were to fall below 1.2 percent, but the agency’s current analysis indicates the ratio is not expected to fall to 1.2 percent this year.
In December, NAFCU launched an “NCUA Money Watch” page to keep tabs on the NCUA’s budget and finances.