FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      

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

Washington, DC (July 18, 2018) – One-size-fits all rules from the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection are forcing credit unions to pull back safe and affordable products from the market. Credit Union National Association (CUNA) is making several recommendations in its comprehensive white paper in response to the Bureau's request for information (RFI) on adopted regulations and new rulemaking authority.  

CUNA believes the Bureau should look more closely at its rules and streamline or exempt credit unions entirely.  

“The bureau’s rules should focus on Wall Street banks and the unregulated and under-regulated sectors of the financial services industry. If the Bureau spent less time regulating and supervising credit unions, it could spend more time on the abusers of consumers,” the white paper reads.  

One example of rulemaking that would have benefited from more engagement with external partners is the Bureau's payday lending rule.  

“As the bureau moves forward with new rulemakings, we encourage it to make use of the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) process to solicit additional stakeholder views, and work with the Small Business Administration (SBA) to ensure that the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) process is efficient and effective,” the paper reads. “Once rules are finalized, the guidance provided by the Bureau must be accurate, easy to understand, and timely; and, enforcement must be fair.” 

Additional comments from CUNA also recommend the Bureau:  

• Apply a cost/benefit analysis to rules for credit unions; 

• Be wholly transparent in its reliance on data, enduring the public has access to the same information, absent confidential and personally identifiable information, it relies on as a foundation of its rulemakings; and  
• Engage with NCUA throughout the entire rulemaking process, as NCUA understands the unique structure and business model of credit unions.  

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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 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.