FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Tom Sakash - CUNA Communications; 630-253-4446; tsakash@cuna.coop 

WASHINGTON (June 1, 2017) – As Congress continues to consider reforms to the Dodd-Frank Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Credit Union National Association has submitted a letter to the CFPB detailing each of the ways the agency’s rulemakings have affected, and in many cases harmed, America’s roughly 6,000 credit unions and their 110 million members.

The letter also includes recommendations on how the bureau can improve its regulations to provide relief to credit unions and their members.    

“We urge the bureau to take immediate action and implement our suggestions for the protection of credit union members, who have fewer choices and are incurring increased costs due to CFPB rules,” said Jim Nussle, CUNA president/CEO. “CUNA, our state league partners, and credit unions—the original consumer protectors—stand willing to provide the CFPB any further details or analysis necessary to achieve regulatory relief, the ultimate goal of our Campaign for Common-Sense Regulation.”

Added Nussle: “The CFPB continues to cite the very minimal accommodations it has made in some rules for credit unions. However, in practicality, credit unions’ ability to provide top-quality and consumer-friendly financial products and services has been significantly impeded by a one-size-fits-all regulatory scheme that favors large banks and less regulated nonbank lenders—institutions that have more resources for overly complex compliance requirements.”

Issues covered in the letter include:

• The negative effects CFPB regulations have had on credit union operations, their products and services, and their members despite the CFPB’s claims that it adequately accommodated credit unions;
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• The costs borne by credit unions as a result of CFPB regulations—not including the additional costs that will be incurred as a result of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and Truth in Lending Act/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Integrated Disclosure (TRID) requirements; and
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• The failure of the CFPB both to use its legal authority to exempt credit unions from certain regulations and to adequately account for the size, complexity, structure, or mission of all credit unions.
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The letter also includes detailed recommendations for how the CFPB can improve its work surrounding:

• The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act;
• Mortgage origination rules;
• Mortgage servicing regulations;
• Remittances;
• The Fair Debt Collection Practice Act;
• Indirect lending;
• Prepaid cards;
• Payday and small-dollar loans;
• Unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices;
• Voluntary products;
• Arbitration;
• Small-business lending; and
• Access to financial records.

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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 more than 100 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.