This
week: NAFCU pushes for CU relief as Washington addresses coronavirus
NAFCU's award-winning advocacy team is actively engaged with policymakers
in Washington as Congress and regulators work to address issues posed by the coronavirus
pandemic. The Senate remains in session to hash out details of Phase 3 of emergency
funding provisions, while the House continues to work from home districts until they need to return to vote.
NAFCU
calls for more CU relief, parity with banks in coronavirus packages
NAFCU through the weekend aggressively lobbied Capitol Hill and the Trump administration
as negotiations related to Phase 3 of coronavirus relief – the CARES Act –
continued. Yesterday, NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger sent a letter to congressional
leadership urging that any resources provided to banks in relief efforts are also
provided to credit unions and reiterated specific areas of relief for credit unions.
NAFCU
advocates against extending Durbin Amendment, other efforts that could harm CUs
As various options to address the economic and health concerns of the coronavirus
are considered by lawmakers in emergency aid packages, NAFCU is advocating against
all that could harm the credit union industry. Of note, the association is currently
pushing back against attempts from some trade groups to extend the Durbin Amendment
of the Dodd-Frank Act – which places a price cap on interchange fees on debit card transactions – to credit cards.
Compliance-Related
FAQs Regarding COVID-19
Questions on how the coronavirus pandemic
impacts credit unions are answered here
When CUs become heroes
As the white hats of the financial services industry, it is credit unions'
core mission to provide safe, affordable financial products and services to those
in need. Especially in times of crisis – whether it be a government shutdown,
hurricane or wildfire, or pandemic – credit unions are proactive in finding
ways to support those who are impacted.
NAFCU's
Berger tells Congress how CUs are helping, outlines steps Congress can take
NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger Friday provided an update on how the credit
unions are working with their members and how Congress can help them in the midst
of the coronavirus pandemic in a letter to House Financial Services Committee
Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., subcommittee leadership, and both chambers of Congress.
ECU
Monitor: NAFCU forecasts negative GDP growth, unemployment rise
The
March edition of the Economic & CU Monitor report – now available for
download – includes an economic forecast from NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice
President of Research Curt Long anticipating negative GDP growth for the year
and a 6 percent rise in unemployment, on average, for the year.
CFPB
releases debt collection practices report, extends comment period
The
CFPB Friday released its 2020 Fair Debt Collection Practices ACT (FDCPA) Annual
Report published by the bureau and the Financial Trade Commission (FTC) outlining
the agencies' efforts to stop unlawful debt collection practices. The bureau
also announced a NAFCU-sought extension of the comment deadline for its supplemental time-barred debt proposal to June 5.
NCUA's
annual report highlights agency performance, NAFCU-supported wins for CUs, more
The NCUA Friday released its 2019 Annual Report, which provides credit unions
with details on the agency's progress on policy initiatives, financial standing
and expected challenges in the year ahead.
February
existing-home sales jump; NAFCU expects drop coming
Existing-home sales
jumped 6.5 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million
units, which represents a 7.2 percent increase in sales versus a year ago. In
response, NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long said
this performance reversed January's decline and put 2020 off to a solid start in a new Macro Data Flash report.
