House passes reg relief for credit unions; CUNA continues push for full CDFI funding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      

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

Washington, DC (July 19, 2018) – Today the House approved H.R. 6147, the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2019. Credit Union National Association (CUNA) supports the legislation as it continues to build upon CUNA’s Campaign for Common-Sense Regulation.  

The bill would delay the effective date of National Credit Union Administration's (NCUA) risk-based capital rule to January 2021 and provide funding for the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, which is used for grants and awards to foster growth, achieve sustainability and revitalize communities.  

"We thank House leadership for passing regulatory relief measures that will greatly benefit credit unions," said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. "CUNA has maintained since NCUA first proposed the risk-based capital rule that it is a solution in search of a problem, so we support any legislative means to reduce the rule’s impact on credit unions." 

CUNA sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi in support of the legislation and also urged the House of Representatives to increase the bill's $216 million allocation to the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. CUNA's efforts led to an increase of its funding level to $248 million in the final bill. The CDFI Fund was fully funded at $250 million in H.R. 1625, the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2018.  

"Certified CDFIs, including credit unions, are able to turn the awards and grants from the fund to leverage significant amounts of private and non-federal dollars in support of vital community investments," Nussle added. "CUNA will continue our advocacy to push for full funding of the Treasury's CDFI Fund as it is an important investment by the federal government."  

Some additional provisions that would benefit credit unions include:  

• Placing the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP) under the appropriations process; 

• Give the president the authority to remove the BCFP director; and 
• Enhancing Congressional review of BCFP rulemaking. 

The bill also includes languages from several CUNA-supported bills, such as:  

• Mortgage Choice Act (H.R. 1153), which would remove certain premiums and title insurance from the points and fees calculation; 
• Privacy Notification Technical Clarification Act (H.R. 2396), would “provide credit unions sufficient flexibility to ensure that members have access to the privacy policy pertinent to their relationship with the credit union; 

• TRID Improvement Act of 2018 (H.R. 5078), which would amend the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act to require the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to allow the accurate disclosure of title insurance premiums and any potential available discounts to homebuyers; 
• Common Sense Credit Union Capital Relief Act (H.R. 4464), which would delay NCUA’s risk-based capital rule; 
• Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection–Inspector General Reform Act, which would create an independent inspector general at the CFPB. 

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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.