WASHINGTON -- NCUA is placing new attention on credit union members, CUNA Deputy General Counsel and Senior Vice President Mary Dunn reported back from CUNA's Attorneys Conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
NCUA General Counsel Bob Fenner told about 125 credit union attorneys from around the country that NCUA has honed its "focus on putting members first." Issues the agency will be looking at but not necessarily issuing any rulemakings on include mutual savings bank conversions, mergers, and the adequacy of disclosures in private insurance. Additionally, NCUA is working on a final rule on the conflict of interest in eligible obligations and red flags from the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, as well as affiliate marketing.
"The Board has taken proactive steps to enhance member protection and transparency through inspection of records, and is considering action in the same vein regarding bylaw enforcement," he said. "These are part of NCUA's overall efforts to make certain that the members are the decision makers when it comes to matters related to ownership and structure of their credit union."
As Credit Union Times previously reported (July 18, 2007 issue), the agency has shifted focus over 2007 from regulatory relief to consumer protectionism, taking its cues from the current Democrat-controlled Congress. "Also, there is an increased emphasis by Congress on consumer protection in a variety of areas such as home mortgage lending, credit card disclosure, and garnishment of federal benefits," Fenner noted. "NCUA has been asked by Congress on several instances to provide information on our consumer protection enforcement, and I expect this to continue throughout the 110th Congress."
In March, NCUA testified before Congress on problems in the subprime mortgage market and credit unions' lack of involvement in the riskier loans. Again in May, NCUA testified again on credit card disclosures and fair lending and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act in July.
Also in May, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and John Dingell (D-Mich.) sent a letter to several of the federal financial services regulators, though not NCUA, which intimated that if the regulators did not take appropriate steps, directives would be handed down to them.
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