Senate passes S. 2155

Last night,  the Senate passed S. 2155, a CUNA-supported relief bill that will improve the current operating environment for credit unions and community banks nationwide. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act is a victory for consumers served by credit unions and aligns with the core efforts behind CUNA’s Campaign for Common Sense Regulation.

“We thank the Senators who put party politics aside to support a bill that will greatly benefit credit unions and the 110 million members they serve,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “We’re grateful to see both sides come together to pass a meaningful piece of regulatory reform legislation, and CUNA will continue its strong engagement to momentum and see the bill move through the House.”

CUNA urged committee leadership to support the regulatory relief legislation that will aid in the removal of barriers that keep credit unions from fully servicing its members. The provisions CUNA supports will:

• Classify credit union one-to-four unit, non-owner occupied residential property loans as real estate loans, freeing up credit unions to lend to more small businesses, which CUNA believes would make up to $4 billion in additional capital available;
• Treat loans held in portfolio by certain lenders as Qualified Mortgages;
• Raise Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reporting thresholds to 500 closed-end and open-end loans in calendar year;
• Apply the same consumer protections in place for mortgage lending to Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans;
• Remove the three-day wait period required under the Truth in Lending Act Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act integrated disclosure rule’s mortgage disclosure is a creditor extends a second offer of credit unions a lower annual percentage rate to the consumer;
• Provide legal immunity for properly trained, good-faith reporters of suspected financial elder abuse;
• Require the Treasury to conduct a study on the risks that cyberthreats might pose to financial institutions.

“This sets up an opportunity for the Senate to demonstrate that it can work together to pass legislation in a bipartisan way and we hope the House will quickly follow suit,” said Nussle.  

CUNA has long advocated for a bipartisan, common-sense solution to regulatory relief. Passage of this important legislation will create a more functional environment for credit unions and their 110 million members.