Credit union and banking trade groups are warning that the plan of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to issue a national bank charter to Figure Technologies will violate federal law. National banks are required to be insured by a prudential regulator, and Figure Technologies says it does not plan to do that.
In a letter to congressional leaders, some 100 business groups including the Credit Union National Association, the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, the American Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America, call on Congress to enact legislation to forgive all Paycheck Protection Program loans of up to $150,000 using a one-page application. Meanwhile the Small Business Administration is facing a judicial deadline to make information on PPP loans public.
The Independent Community Bankers of America’s anti-credit union campaign will continue in the next Congress.
In its briefing on the impact of the 2020 election, the ICBA said it will continue its “Wake Up” campaign during the 117th Congress. But the trade group said it does not expect any major policy shift in how policymakers view the credit union industry.
In response to the Treasury Department’s proposed changes to the CDFI application process, Joseph Pigg of the American Banker’s Association points out that nearly half of all credit unions are now designated as “low income” and questions whether they should meet the definition of CDFI.
CUNA objects to the Federal Communications Commission placing new restrictions on informational calls made by credit unions to their members.
The National Credit Union Administration’s proposed new operating fee structure will help ensure that federal credit unions will not be penalized for participating in the Paycheck Protection Program, Luke Martone, the Credit Union National Association’s senior director of advocacy and council recently told the agency.
CUNA and NAFCU have all sorts of suggestions on how the NCUA can help credit unions during the coronavirus economic crisis.
Paycheck Protection Program loans are remaining on credit union balance sheets for longer than expected, causing regulatory headaches for credit union officials, Credit Union National Association President/CEO Jim Nussle said last week.
NAFCU says that three recent data breaches at retailers is a reminder to Congress that a data security standard for retailers needs to be enacted. NAFCU thinks the data security standards for retailers should be the same as those for financial institutions, especially since data breaches of retailers often have consequences for credit unions.
CUNA has launched the “Advancing Communities” campaign, a new effort designed to provide state and federal policymakers and communities with information about the economic and social impact that credit unions provide across the country.