WASHINGTON — While state-chartered credit unions are currently permitted to offer a variety of broker-related services, NASCUS recently told the Securities and Exchange Commission it is concerned that state laws will be preempted by the agency's Regulation R, which could trigger "redundant and costly examination and oversight." The SEC is aiming to implement the bank broker exceptions under Section 3(a)(4) of the Exchange Act, as amended by the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006. Banks and thrifts would be exempt from registering as broker-dealers for engaging in networking, sweep accounts, trust and fiduciary, and safekeeping and custody activities. If CUs are not granted equivalent exemptions, they would have to register as a broker dealer, wrote Sandra Troutman, NASCUS executive president, government affairs, in a March 23 letter to the SEC. "It is likely that a credit union, facing additional regulatory burden and costs, would choose not to become a registered broker dealer and said services would no longer be offered to credit union members," Troutman wrote.

NASCUS also believes that exemptions should apply equally to all CUs, regardless of their choice of charter type and insurance provider.

More than 11% of state-chartered CUs offer investment and insurance sales activities, according to NASCUS.