Congressman asks NCUA to back off on guidance as regulation

Sources close to the LSCU say Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) continued his efforts to push financial regulators, including NCUA, to stop allowing examiners to treat guidance as if it has the same authority as regulation or statute.  In line with those efforts, Luetkemeyer Friday sent a letter to NCUA chairman Mark McWatters, along with other FFIEC regulators, asking for more formal action to prevent inappropriate application of guidance.

Last September these regulators issued an interagency statement announcing a distinction between guidance and regulation.

“The interagency statement was an integral first step towards restoring sanity and clarity in the regulatory regime. I appreciate the regulators’ attentiveness and efforts to clarify the important distinction between guidance and rule, but there is more to be done. I encourage the regulators to begin a formal rulemaking process in order to adopt the stated principles of the interagency statement as formal regulation,” said Luetkemeyer.

For details, read the letter.