Harper Calls for NCUA Consumer Protection Tests at Large Credit Unions
Harper proposes adding three new employees in the agency’s Office of Consumer Financial Protection in 2020.
NCUA board member Todd Harper Wednesday called on the agency to create a consumer compliance exam program for large credit unions.
“For more than three decades, the NCUA has focused its examination program primarily on safety and soundness reviews,” Harper said, in asking commenters on the agency’s proposed 2020 budget to weigh in on his proposal. “This policy worked well when the NCUA oversaw a large number of small credit unions serving a limited field of membership with only a few basic financial products, but today’s credit unions are larger and more complex, with 317 credit unions exceeding $1 billion in assets having 71.7 million members.”
The NCUA released its 2020 budget proposal earlier this week. The plan, which is open for public comment, does not include Harper’s proposal.
Harper is proposing to add three new employees in the agency’s Office of Consumer Financial Protection in 2020. Those employees would develop and launch a dedicated consumer compliance exam process for large, complex credit unions.
Harper said the NCUA’s exam process covering consumer protection laws in credit unions with assets of $10 billion or less is not in line with other financial regulators.
Other regulators schedule risk-focused consumer protection reviews and assign a separate consumer compliance rating, according to Harper.
Harper added that that the NCUA’s policy also differs from the congressionally mandated Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. That council aims to develop uniform standards for financial regulators.
Harper outlined his consumer protection concerns in two speeches earlier this year.
In speeches at a meeting of “Women in Housing and Finance Policy” and NAFCU’s Congressional Caucus, Harper outlined his regulatory priorities.
“Although credit unions are owned by their members, management’s actions may not always align with the consumers’ best interests and the requirements of federal regulations,” he said in his housing speech.
The NCUA should strive to better protect consumer interests, he said.