CUNA has asked the NCUA for a 30-day extension of its comment period for the agency's proposed rule to expand the definition of small credit unions to less than $30 million in assets.
The trade association, which represents some 7,000 credit unions, said in a letter from Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Mary Mitchell Dunn that it is still in the process of collecting feedback and analyzing data.
Dunn also said credit unions have many priorities on their plates, including other new rules from the NCUA and CFPB.
"We are concerned that comments on this proposal may not be as complete as they otherwise would be if a reasonable amount of additional time is not provided," Dunn said in an Oct. 18 letter to the agency.
Dunn said Monday another 30 days added onto the agency's original Oct. 25 deadline won't delay regulatory relief for credit unions, and will give CUNA more time to analyze the proposal and consider ramifications of the rule, including any additional costs to the NCUA budget that might result.
The NCUA proposed the rule Sept. 20 to expand the definition of small credit unions from less than $10 million to less than $30 million in assets, which would increase by 66% the number of credit unions the agency's relatively new Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives serves.
As proposed, the rule would provide 1,603 additional credit unions with regulatory relief from rules such as the risk-based net worth requirement, and a provision of the interest rate risk rule that went into effect Sept. 30.
NAFCU General Counsel Carrie Hunt said her organization will be submitting its comment letter by Thursday's deadline. When informed of CUNA's extension request, Hunt said another 30 days "isn't a big deal," but added that NAFCU is always supportive of providing regulatory relief to credit unions as quickly as possible.
Both Dunn and Hunt said their trade associations will be asking the NCUA to increase the proposed small credit union threshold beyond the proposed $30 million. Hunt praised the NCUA for including a provision to review the definition on a regular basis.
"Having that built in to the rulemaking means they think it's something that can be adjusted, which is very positive," Hunt said.
The NAFCU attorney said she expects the final rule to be similar to the proposed $30 million ceiling, but added her organization "won't be shy about asking them to reconsider it."
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