Trade associations approve of travel companion proposal

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-CUNA and NAFCU both wrote NCUA in support of the proposal to replace “immediate family member” with the term “guest” in the reimbursement of travel for volunteers. Currently, only immediate family members may be reimbursed by the credit union for travel on official business with a credit union volunteer. CUNA wrote in its official comment letter that the proposal is consistent with NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar’s minimal government interference approach to regulating credit unions. “The proposal recognizes that, absent congressional directives, government agencies do not need to be in the business of assessing individual relationships to determine whether they meet a regulatory standard,” CUNA Associate General Counsel Mary Dunn wrote. She also noted that credit unions are free to maintain a more restrictive policy if they wish. NAFCU’s support was not so resounding. “Although NAFCU members’ opinions varied on this issue, the proposed rule imposes no new burdens on credit unions and provides credit unions with broader discretion an flexibility in their reimbursement policies,” the letter signed by President and CEO Fred Becker read. “Furthermore, individual credit unions that wish to adopt a more strict reimbursement policy or deny reimbursement entirely could do so.”