WASHINGTON, DC (November 19, 2015) — National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) President and CEO Dan Berger issued the following statement in response to the National Credit Union Administration’s (NCUA) proposal to reform field-of-membership (FOM) requirements and the two-year operating budget approved at the agency’s board meeting today.
“NAFCU applauds the NCUA Board for proposing the most comprehensive field of membership reform initiative that the industry has seen in over a decade,” said Berger. “As commerce and consumer behavior continue to rapidly evolve with innovative technologies, we are pleased to see that the agency listened to our member credit unions’ suggestions on how to keep pace with today’s marketplace. NAFCU is carefully reviewing the proposal and we look forward to working with NCUA to ensure that this rule provides requisite regulatory relief for federal credit unions.”
Regarding the budget, Berger said, “While NAFCU and our members appreciate the NCUA Board’s continued commitment to increasing budget transparency, we firmly believe that more can be done to ensure that credit union dollars are being spent efficiently and effectively. The agency has not held a public hearing on its budget in six years, and credit unions deserve the chance to be a part of the process that they ultimately fund.”
Berger renewed the association’s call for NCUA to move back to an 18-month exam cycle for low-risk credit unions, and explained that credit unions are ready now for such a change. “NAFCU firmly believes the health of today’s credit union industry necessitates NCUA’s moving back to an 18-month exam cycle for well-run credit unions in 2016. While we appreciate Chairman Matz’s positive comments about returning to this longer cycle in the future, we fundamentally believe the industry is ready for it and needs it today, ” Berger added.
The National Association of Federal 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. www.nafcu.org.
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.
