As noted in part I, compliance requirements will continue to be complex and ever-changing, and will require a comprehensive and collaborative approach from employees across credit union departments.

Here are more top regulatory issues to watch in 2019:

Prepaid accounts rule

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced amendments to the agency’s 2016 prepaid accounts rule last January. The rule created “comprehensive protections” for prepaid accounts under Regulation E (Electronic Fund Transfer Act) and Regulation Z (Truth in Lending Act).

The most recent changes extended the overall effective date of the rule by one year to April 1, 2019. They also:

• Revised the error resolution and limited liability provisions of the rule in Reg E to provide that financial institutions are not required to resolve errors or limit consumers’ liability on unverified prepaid accounts.
• Provided more flexibility concerning credit cards linked to digital wallets, creating a limited exception to the rule’s credit-related provisions in Reg Z for certain business arrangements between prepaid account issuers and credit card issuers that offer traditional credit card products.
• Made certain other clarifications and minor adjustments to aspects of the prepaid rule in both Reg E and Reg Z.

Telephone Consumer Protection Act

CUNA continues to seek clarity on several issues under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to reduce confusion for credit unions trying to comply with the law.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began re-examining its TCPA interpretation after the D.C. Circuit Court challenged the legality of the 2015 Omnibus TCPA Declaratory Ruling and Order [PDF].

CUNA requested that the FCC consider:

• Revising its reassigned number framework by defining the “called party” as the “intended recipient.”
• Identifying reasonable methods to revoke consent.
• Clarifying the definition of an “automatic telephone dialing system.”
• Eliminating antiquated distinctions between landlines and cell phones.
• Creating a centralized approach by creating a single, comprehensive database of reassigned numbers.

In December, FCC fulfilled the last requested bullet on this list by approving a report and order to create a reassigned numbers database to combat unwanted robocalls.

CUNA has strongly pushed for such a database as part of its ongoing advocacy to resolve issues related to the TCPA.

Stay tuned for further developments on the database and other TCPA issues.

Upcoming NCUA rulemaking

The agency will likely issue advance notices of proposed rulemaking (ANPRs) or notices of proposed rulemaking on these regulations within the first six months of 2019:

• Supervisory committee audits and verification (issued by end of March): A proposal revising the language of the engagement letter, the engagement letter’s target delivery date, and minimum standards for a supervisory committee audit.
• Loans and lines of credit to members (issued by end of March): A likely ANPR offering flexibility within executive compensation plans in connection with loans when measuring performance.
• Loans and lines of credit to members (issued by June): A likely ANPR on floating interest rates.
• Credit union service organizations (CUSOs) (issued by June): A proposal allowing CUSOs to originate any loan that a credit union may provide.
• Subordinated debt (issued by June): A proposal addressing the acceptance of secondary capital accounts by low-income credit unions and supplemental capital instruments counting toward the risk-based net worth requirement.

Note that these time frames are subject to change.

Contact the CUNA Compliance Team at cucomply@cuna.coop.