Links in “NCUA”

The NCUA board is scheduled to look at a final rule that will automatically qualify more association groups into credit unions’ fields of membership, and to review a proposed rule that would allow credit unions to offer other forms of insured escrow accounts similar to IOLTA accounts. [4/24/15]

That’s what NCUA Director of Examination and Insurance Larry Fazio said yesterday at a hearing before the House Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee. Fazio referenced a recent proposed rule to increase the asset limit for a “small” credit union from $50 million to $100 million and a final rule scheduled for review at the next board meeting that would simplify the process by which federal credit unions add groups to their fields of membership. [4/23/15]

According to Chairman Matz, being green is just part of the culture at NCUA. Find out what the NCUA has been doing to promote environmental stewardship this past year! [4/23/15]

NCUA's April report is now available. This report covers topics from regulatory relief to identifying record retention deficiencies. [4/22/15]

In this month’s The NCUA Report, NCUA Chair Debbie Matz provides details about how the agency could allow for supplemental capital. Matz stated that the NCUA might count certain forms of subordinated debt (which could be extended to both members and nonmembers)  as supplemental capital for the risk-based capital ratio.  Matz added that the supplementary capital would not be insured and detailed other changes that would have to occur to make this change possible. [4/22/15]

The NCUA has gone back to the drawing board and reissued a revised proposal concerning federal credit unions’ ownership of fixed assets. The proposed rule issued in 2014 drew mostly negative comments stating that it didn’t go far enough in providing credit unions with authority to manage their own resources. This renovated proposal represents a significant improvement over the previous proposal by eliminating altogether the 5% cap on fixed assets. [4/21/15]

There will be a U.S. House subcommittee hearing on regulatory burden from a regulators perspective in congress this week. It will host a number of witnesses from federal regulatory agencies, including the NCUA. [4/21/15]

CUNA has reiterated in the comment letter it submitted to NCUA that RBC2 is unnecessary and should be withdrawn. CUNA asserts that NCUA has no legal authority to establish a two-tiered RBC structure, and that there is no evidence that had RBC2 been in place prior to the financial crisis that the losses would have been less. CUNA also offers additional recommendations for revisions to the proposed rule. [4/20/15]

Operation Choke Point, a Justice Department initiative, allows the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to investigate whether financial institutions and payment processing companies are enabling fraudulent activity. In a letter to the House Financial Services Committee, NCUA Chair Debbie Matz wrote that the agency does not dictate to credit unions which accounts they can open as long as the business qualifies for membership. Some credit union leaders may disagree. [4/20/15]

Will RBC2 actually keep credit union assets safe? Or is the logic surrounding RBC2 somewhat flawed? These, and other questions, are being raised as the comment period for the RBC2 proposal draws near an end. [4/17/15]