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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will be in front of the House Financial Services Committee today for the “Semi Annual Report of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.” CUNA sent a 41 page letter to the committee outlining some of the concerns credit unions have with the CFPB. Chiefly among the concerns, the CFPB acknowledges that feels credit unions serve their members well, but the bureau’s actions don’t match those words.
CUNA writes in the letter, ” In an ideal world, the Bureau’s rulemaking activity would match its public speeches and we would be able to end this letter here, because the rules would be tailored to rein in abusers of consumers and those who caused the financial crisis. Accordingly, CFPB rules would not make it more difficult or expensive for credit unions to serve their members. Unfortunately, we do not live in such a world.”
The regulatory burden on credit unions is massive and CUNA points out that its regulatory burden study found that credit unions see $7.2 billion go from serving members to keeping up with regulations. As Army Aviation Center FCU CEO Bobby Michael told Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL) at the CUNA GAC, “just think how many people that could employ at a credit union.” The letter ends with a legal opinion that the CFPB has statutory authority to exempt credit unions.
The League’s Advocacy team has been in touch with the Alabama and Florida members of the committee to voice the concerns with the CFPB. It was also a topic at the Hill visits during the CUNA GAC. You can read the CUNA Letter to the House committee by clicking here.
