Reg relief bill S. 2155 passes House; monumental win for credit unions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     

CONTACT: Lauren Williams – CUNA Communications; (202) 626-7642; lwilliams@cuna.coop             

Washington, DC (May 22, 2018) – Today the House voted to pass S. 2155, a relief bill supported by Credit Union National Association (CUNA) that will improve the current operating environment for credit unions and community banks nationwide. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act passed the Senate in March and will go to President Trump's office for signature in the coming days.  

“CUNA, state credit union leagues, credit unions and credit union members all deserve a major round of applause for getting this historic bill through Congress and onto the president’s desk,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “From the moment a group of bipartisan Senators unveiled this bill, credit unions told them loud and clear that this is an essential piece of regulatory relief legislation that will improve access to mortgage lending, real estate loans and other products and services, while putting focus on senior abuse and cyberthreats.  

"We thank the group of bipartisan Senators, their colleagues who voted in favor of the bill, House leadership, and all the members of the House who supported S. 2155. The bill’s opponents fought hard, but the credit union movement continued their strong engagement leading into a tough election year,” Nussle added.  

Since negotiations began earlier this year, CUNA has devoted a significant amount of time engaging with legislators and meeting with Senators on both sides of the aisle.  

During the 2018 CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference, over 5,000 credit union advocates traveled to DC to meet with their state legislators to discuss the importance of the bill and urge them to 'Vote YES' for regulator relief. It was also during this time that Nussle and several other credit union leaders met with President Trump at the White House to discuss the bill.  

CUNA activated their national grassroots Campaign for Common Sense Regulation calling on support from tens of thousands of members fpr S. 2155. Additionally, league partners represented at least 16 states who joined with their state banking organizations to call on their members of Congress to support the bill.  

Once signed into law, the provisions CUNA supports will:   

• Classify credit union one-to-four unit, non-owner occupied residential property loans as real estate loans, freeing up credit unions to lend to more small businesses, which CUNA believes would make up to $4 billion in additional capital available;  
• Treat loans held in portfolio by certain lenders as Qualified Mortgages;  
• Raise Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reporting thresholds to 500 closed-end and open-end loans in calendar year;   
• Apply the same consumer protections in place for mortgage lending to Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans;  
• Remove the three-day wait period required under the Truth in Lending Act Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act integrated disclosure rule’s mortgage disclosure is a creditor extends a second offer of credit unions a lower annual percentage rate to the consumer;  

• Provide legal immunity for properly trained, good-faith reporters of suspected financial elder abuse;  
• Require the Treasury to conduct a study on the risks that cyberthreats might pose to financial institutions. 

###  

About CUNA    

Credit Union National Association (CUNA) is the only national association that advocates on behalf of all of America’s credit unions, which are owned by 110 million consumer members. CUNA, along with its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, delivers unwavering advocacy, continuous professional growth and operational confidence to protect the best interests of all credit unions. For more information about CUNA, visit cuna.org.