CU & Bank Regulatory Relief Bill Sails Through House; Tougher Senate Vote Up Next

On Wednesday night, the full House of Representatives passed a comprehensive financial regulatory relief bill which eases field of membership and member business lending (MBL) restrictions in underserved areas for credit unions.

The bill, known as the Credit Union, Bank and Thrift Regulatory Relief Act (CUBTRRA, H.R. 6312), passed by a voice vote after it was placed on the House Suspension Calendar. Such action is reserved only for non-controversial legislation.

CUNA President/CEO Dan Mica thanked U.S. Reps. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.), Ed Royce (R-Calif.), Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Ranking Member Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) for "working with us to attain regulatory relief for the nation's credit unions." (CUNA News Now, 6/25)

"This measure holds a number of substantive elements that will serve our members well," Mica said. "Now it is on to the Senate to ask for its consideration of the package."

As its name suggests, the bill contains measures that would benefit credit unions, as well as banks and thrifts. Some of the credit union provisions the bill proposes are to:

According to CUNA Legislative Affairs Vice President Ryan Donovan, the bill now faces a tougher road.  "The Senate just is not as far along in the process as was the House, but we will continue to make our case there," the CUNA lobbyist told News Now.

Both the House and Senate adjourn at the end of this week for a July 4 District Work Period and will return to session the week of July 7.  Despite the positive development, Mica emphasized CUNA was not finished in seeking more flexibility for credit unions in serving their members.

"We will continue to push for risk-based capital through reform of prompt corrective action (PCA) requirements," he said. "And we strongly believe credit unions should have the power to offer more business loans to their members."

The CUNA leader said the association would pursue----both in this Congress and the next--provisions contained in the Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act (CURIA, H.R. 1537), which propose a higher cap on member business lending, as well as prompt corrective action reform.

Passage of CUBTRRA Could Allow Increased MBL Opportunity in 11 Vermont Counties

If H.R. 6312 is passed by the Senate and signed into law by the President, credit unions engaging in Member Business Lending (MBL) could see increased opportunity in all but 3 Vermont counties, according to data compiled by CUNA.  The table to the right shows the proportion of the population in each Vermont county that is in "underserved" census tracts under the language of H.R. 6312.  These areas would be eligible to be added as underserved areas and business loans made there would be excluded from the 12.25% cap.

CUNA expects to soon make more information available, including a list of all census tracts showing which do and do not qualify as underserved areas.  They will also provide a link to a Census Bureau map that will allow the exact location of the census tracts.  With a little patience and time, specific credit unions will be able to determine which census tracts in given areas are eligible.  We will update this information in Newslines Express as it becomes available.

BSA / AML Officer Training Survey Results Tabulated

Building on our successful Bank Secrecy Act / Anti-Money Laundering Officer training program that began in 2007, the Association will again offer this training at the Fireside Inn and Suites in West Lebanon, NH this October.  The exact date has yet to be determined, but we do know that the training will take place between Tuesday, 10/28 and Thursday, 10/30.

A little more than a week ago, we sent out a quick email survey to credit union Manager / CEOs and last year’s attendees, asking if they would be interested in us holding a second day of Advanced BSA training.  After tabulating the results from those who responded, we have determined that there is insufficient interest in a second day, so we are moving ahead with plans for a one day BSA/AML Officer seminar.  As soon as we have completed the arrangements with last year’s very well received instructor Jay Friedland, we’ll provide more information via Newslines Express and will distribute the registration brochure for the session.  In the meantime, we want to thank everyone who responded to the survey for providing us with valuable input.