FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE       

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

Washington, DC (July 12, 2018) – The Senate Banking Committee will host a hearing today to review the Credit Bureaus and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).  

Credit Union National Association (CUNA), the trade association advocating on behalf of America's 110 million credit union members, wrote a letter to Chairman Crapo and Ranking Member Brown urging for further examination of FCRA regulation and guidance forms. Credit unions have difficulty complying with the law as it needs to be updated and modernized to provide more clarity and flexibility for personnel.  

"The FCRA does not currently impose caps on recoveries in class action lawsuits. While not uncommon in some legal contexts, both the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Fair Debt Collecting Practices Act (FDCPA) contain caps on potential recoveries," the letter reads. "This divergence creates a ripe opportunity for unscrupulous plaintiff’s attorneys to file frivolous lawsuits against financial institutions. To remedy this situation, Congress could explore the potential for modernizing the FCRA to include some limitations on recoveries." 

Credit unions have a strong reputation of providing credit to their members, particularly in the underwriting process. Complying with the law is critically important to compliance staff but uncertainty with regulations causes unnecessary burdens on the credit union.   

Consumer credit reports contain information that is needed in the decision-making process when it comes to extending credit to a borrower. Thus, CUNA recommends four key areas that the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP) can use to thoroughly examine its FCRA documents: 

• Clarify that entities may provide a consumer who was approved for credit with their credit report;  
• Clarify and potentially expand the requirement of “permissible purpose” to obtain consumers’ credit reports;  

• Expand what entities may say to consumers about the credit score impact of paying off debts, which could result in more meaningful financial education tools for consumers; and 
• Streamline the current opt-out notice requirements to eliminate any duplication and reduce the potential of redundant notices. 

### 

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.