FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE        

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

Washington, DC (July 17, 2018) – The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) will host a hearing today to examine capital regimes for financial institutions.   

Credit Union National Association (CUNA), the trade association advocating on behalf of America's 110 million credit union members, wrote a letter to Chairman Luetkemeyer and Ranking Member Clay to stress the importance of modernizing credit unions’ capital regime to ensure a safe and sound environment to best serve their credit union members and their communities.  

"As you know, credit unions are subject to statutory and regulatory capital requirements, including Tier I leverage ratio that is hardwired into statute and a risk-based capital requirement," the letter reads. "These requirements differ from requirements on for-profit financial institutions in recognition of the structural dissimilarities between credit unions and banks."   

CUNA suggests two steps for Congress to consider capital regime: delaying the implementation of the National Credit Union Administration’s recently finalized risk-based capital rule and enacting legislation permitting all credit unions to issue supplemental capital instruments. 

The Capital Access for Small Business and Jobs Act, introduced by Representatives Peter King (R-NY) and Brad Sherman (D-CA), would allow credit unions to accept other forms of capital, if it does not alter the cooperative ownership structure of credit unions. The pending legislation requires that this capital be uninsured and subordinate to other claims against the credit union. 

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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.