Today President Donald Trump signed the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155) into law, officially enacting legislation that provides regulatory relief for America’s credit unions. Credit Union National Association (CUNA) strongly supported the bill from early negotiations in the Senate, and continued engagement with league partners and credit unions through House passage of the bill on May 22.
“President Trump’s signature on S. 2155 brings a successful end to one of the most comprehensive, historic advocacy efforts the credit union system has seen in quite some time. From the moment the text of the bill was released by a group of bipartisan Senators, credit unions made their voices heard wherever possible, resulting in significant regulatory relief for credit unions and 110 million Americans,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “This could not have been accomplished without fierce advocacy directly to members of Congress, in addition to social media posts, letters to the editor, the e-mails, the op-eds, all of which showed the majority of Congress that the time of one-size-fits-all regulations is over, and that American consumers need access to safe mortgages and other financial services products.”
CUNA has begun working toward the next phase of its Campaign for Common Sense Regulation, and outlined changes it would like to see at the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection in a letter sent to House leadership shortly after S. 2155 passed.
S.2155:
- Establishes a safe harbor from certain requirements for a loan to be considered a Qualified Mortgage;
- Rescinds the additional data points required under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act for insured credit unions that originate fewer than 500 closed-end and/or 500 open-end lines of credit;
- Reclassifies one-to-four unit, non-owner occupied residential loans as real estate loans, so the loan would not count against the member business lending cap;
- Clarifies that the same consumer protections in place with respect to mortgage lending are nonexistent for Property Assessed Clean Energy loans;
- Removes the three-day wait period required for the combined TRID mortgage disclosure if a creditor extends to a consumer a second offer of credit with a lower annual percentage rate;
- Requires NCUA to make publicly available a draft of their proposed budget, hold a hearing with public notice during which this draft would be discussed and solicit and consider public comment about the draft budget;
- Provides a safe harbor for properly trained financial employees who report alleged elder financial abuse; and
- Requires the U.S. Department of Treasury to conduct a study on the risks that cyber threats may pose to financial institutions.