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Banks that have been fined millions of dollars in recent years have no business opposing requests from credit unions for an exemption from CFPB supervision, credit union trade groups argued Tuesday.
"What we have here is a letter from the associations representing institutions that have been fined billions of dollars by the CFPB suggesting there is equivalency in how consumers are treated by credit unions and their too-big-too-fail Wall Street banks," CUNA Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donovan said. "It would be laughable if it weren't so shameful."
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Late last week, the American Bankers Association and the Consumer Bankers Association sent a letter to CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger opposing a request from CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle for the agency to exempt credit unions from the agency's supervision. That power should be invested in the NCUA, Nussle said.
At the end of 2018, the CFPB had supervisory power over 11 credit unions, since those met the agency threshold of $10 billion in assets.
The banks contended that the credit unions were asking for special treatment and that the NCUA has not done a good job of supervising credit unions.
This week, the credit union trade groups fired back.
"It is not surprising that the trade associations that represent entities such as Wells Fargo would want the CFPB preoccupied with examining credit unions, while their member banks have continued to abuse customers even after the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act," NAFCU President/CEO B. Dan Berger wrote in a letter to Kraninger.
He cited the $1 billion fine levied against Wells Fargo by the CFPB and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
He went on to ask Kraninger to reexamine CFPB policy and exempt credit unions from the agency's supervisory powers.
Donovan said credit unions play a different role than banks
"The structure, mission and, indeed, practice of credit unions is so significantly different from banks that their latest missive to the CFPB is barely worth the paper it's printed on," Donovan said.
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