Dollar Helps Banking Regulators Cut the Red Tape; Comments Sought on Interagency Regulatory Burden Reduction

WASHINGTON-In a press event following the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Board meeting last week, the federal banking regulators announced an interagency effort to streamline their regulations. While the announcement was mainly for the bankers, as vice chair of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar was in attendance. He briefly discussed NCUA’s success in cutting through the proverbial red tape. NCUA constantly reviews one-third of its regulations every year and recently passed a rule to begin in 2004 to publish which rules it will be reviewing each year. The banking regulators, on the other hand, will begin the estimated three-year process of reviewing all of their regulations pursuant to Section 2222 of the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996, which requires agency’s to review regulations at least every 10 years. FDIC Chairman Don Powell encouraged his staff to move more quickly. EGRPRA requires the agencies to categorize the regulations, publish the categories for comment, report to Congress on any significant issues raised by the comments, and eliminate any unnecessary regulations. The agencies plan to publish the categories twice a year. Comments are currently being sought regarding applications and reporting, powers and activities, and internal operations. The agencies will be holding roundtable discussions in Orlando (June 11), St. Louis (June 26), Denver (July 15), San Francisco (Sept. 18), and New York City (Oct. 15) to encourage participation in the process.