Credit union regulator launches ‘first round’ of changing, eliminating ‘overly burdensome’ regulations

Calling it the “first round” of proposed regulatory changes, the federal credit union regulator Wednesday released a laundry list of rules it said it intends to change or remove.

According to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), it plans to change or remove regulations it considers obsolete, duplicative of statutory requirements, intending to serve as guidance, or “overly burdensome.”

The proposed changes were released under the auspices of agency board (and Republican appointee) Chairman Kyle Hauptman, who is now the only member of the board. The other two board members, both Democrat appointees, were fired by President Donald Trump (R ) earlier this year. The Democrats have challenged their firings in federal court, but an appeals court recently blocked their return to the board. Meanwhile, their positions on the three-member board have not been filled.

The agency said its “deregulation project” was spurred by Trump’s executive order issued Jan. 31, “Unleashing Prosperity through Deregulation.”

NCUA said it is seeking public comments on four proposals that it said would clarify agency guidance or eliminate unduly burdensome or obsolete requirements.

Those proposals are to:

• amend its corporate credit union regulations by removing the requirement that a corporate credit union’s asset and liability management committee (ALCO) must have at least one member who is also a member of the corporate credit union’s board of directors.
• amend its regulations governing supervisory committee audits to eliminate unnecessary, redundant, and overly prescriptive provisions.
• remove Appendix A to part 748 from the Code of Federal Regulations, which are NCUA guidelines for safeguarding member information.

• remove Appendix B to part 748 from the Code of Federal Regulations, guidance on response programs for unauthorized access to member information and member notice.

NCUA graded none of those as “obsolete.” However, it called the rules for corporate credit unions and supervisory committees both “overly burdensome” and “duplicative of the statue.” The agency is removing the guidance, apparently because it is just that – guidance, according to the grades given by the agency.

NCUA Announces Deregulation Project and First Round of Proposed Regulatory Changes