House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling and other committee leaders have asked the NCUA and the CFPB to cease any enforcement of Operation Choke Point.
The lawmakers requested that the agencies publicly disclaim their past, present and future involvement in Operation Choke Point or any similar operation. The agencies were asked to clarify their policy for documenting and reporting orders to financial institutions regarding the termination of deposit account relationships. Lawmakers also requested a notice in writing from each agency to confirm that employees have been notified about the policy.
“The Financial Services Committee will continue to investigate this matter,” the letter to the NCUA read. “Your proactive efforts to require your staff to follow similar guidelines as those issued by the FDIC would help demonstrate to Congress, the public, and the financial institutions that you regulate that the National Credit Union Administration takes seriously the need for transparency and fairness in examinations.”
Similar letters were also sent to the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. House Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), who also signed the letters, recently grilled FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg over the operation.
“The bottom line is, you're putting people out of business and all of the people in the FDIC who are implementing this program, they still work there,” Duffy said. “They haven't been fired. They haven't been reprimanded and you're the chairman and frankly, I've got to tell you, if you're not going to hold them accountable, I think the buck stops with you. I don't think you should chair the FDIC.”
Mike Schuetz, owner of Hawkins Guns LLC in Wisconsin, claimed the $272 million Heritage Credit Union in Madison, Wis. closed his account due to Operation Choke Point. Schuetz, who lives in Duffy's district, recorded a conversation with a branch manager who said the credit union was being pressured by regulators. Heritage's CEO told CU Times the account was closed for different reasons.
NCUA Public Affairs Specialist John Fairbanks has said the NCUA is not involved in Operation Choke Point.
In response to a poll, a majority of CU Times' readers said they think the NCUA is pressing credit unions to follow Operation Choke Point standards.
Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee Chairman Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee Chairman Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), Housing and Insurance Subcommittee Chairman Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) and Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) also signed the aforementioned letters.
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